


Canta Libre

by sirbartonslady



Series: Innocent Sorrow [10]
Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-18
Updated: 2012-05-18
Packaged: 2017-11-05 14:25:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/407454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirbartonslady/pseuds/sirbartonslady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Against Allen's better judgment, he and Lavi begin to train their kids to become Exorcists. Meanwhile, the Earl sets into motion an attempt to destroy the children, in an attempt to bring Allen to his knees.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Resonance

**Author's Note:**

> "Cleanse the soul and wash away the pain, baptized by the song that you're singing." -- Neil Diamond, "Canta Libre"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Walker family sets out on a mission, but as they begin their journey, Mandy starts to feel ill as her throat begins to hurt horribly.

Mandy and Peter Walker were used to this dynamic. When their parents fought, it was safest to just get out of the way. They just hid themselves in their room and waited for the storm to blow over.

"Why do they have to fight so much?" Peter muttered, tugging on his gloves. "It's not like Dad has any say in the matter at this point. Why can't he be more like Papa?"

"Daddy is just worried, you know," Mandy said, pulling her boots on. "You know that he does not like the idea of us being conformers."

"Well, you're still not, not yet anyway." Peter grinned at her.

"I am too a conformer! Hevlaska said as much!"

"Hevlaska only said you have Innocence in you, Sis, not that you're a conformer!" Peter stuck his tongue out at his sister.

"She said that I have parasitic-conformer blood; it is merely not mature enough to activate yet!" Mandy took a swipe at her brother, which he dodged.

"And yet I'm the one who gets the uniform first!"

"So? Just you wait, Peter -- my Innocence will be awesome! It will be even more spectacular than Papa's!"

"Can't wait to see it! Hurry up and activate it, Sis!" he teased.

Even though they sounded like they were arguing, the two kids, both recently turned eleven years old, were the best of friends and knew exactly how far they could push each other. And even though they called each other sibling, they weren't related by blood; rather, they were related by adoption. Mandy was of mixed descent, most likely with a blend of Asian and Spanish blood, given her sable hair, black-brown eyes and olive complexion. Peter was Scottish, with perhaps a touch of Irish; his hair was a smoldering auburn. It looked brown in dim lights, but when the sun hit it just right, it gave even the reddest hair a run.

The two adults they called their parents were different than them altogether, and neither was a genetic relation. For one thing, both parents were men. The older one, the one they called Papa, was a former bookman who went by the name of Lavi; his genetic origins were unknown, but others guessed he was probably Irish or Scottish in descent, because he had a fiery mane of red hair and a scintillating personality. Lavi had been the one to find and retrieve Peter from a tiny village in Scotland nine years ago when the boy had been discovered by villagers, presumably abandoned by his parents, who had disappeared without a trace.

The kids' other father was a Briton named Allen Walker, who had become the youngest General in the history of the Black Order when, by the age of sixteen, he had been promoted to the gold-trimmed uniform of the General. Allen had been the one to retrieve -- and name -- Mandy when she'd been found in an annihilated English village, laying amongst the ashes of victims of Akuma (presumably her parents). Allen had brought the tiny baby back to the Order and had adopted her. The Order's oldest Exorcist, Hevlaska, had confirmed that Mandy had the purifying blood of a parasitic-type conformer, and that she had Innocence within her tiny body, but her Innocence was completely dormant.

Peter had been suspected of being a parasitic-type conformer, because of some unusual markings on his body, but it had turned out to not be true. Those markings were just birthmarks, as it had turned out. Nevertheless, Peter was a conformer, which would explain to some degree why he had ended up at the Black Order; conformers inevitably found their way to the Black Order or to a General one way or another.

Two weeks ago, an exorcist named Gustav Svenhardt had returned from a mission carrying a piece of Innocence he had retrieved from Spain. Allen had been down in Hevlaska's chamber, picking up some pieces of Innocence to carry with him on his routine missions to find new conformers, when the Innocence had refused to go into Hevlaska's body to lay dormant. Instead, the Innocence had swirled agitatedly around the chamber; Hevlaska had stated that, based on its behavior, it seemed to sense its conformer nearby, so Allen had taken it into hand and had opted to add it to his allotment.

He hadn't gotten even out of the Order building before the piece of Innocence found its conformer: Peter Walker.

Mandy Walker was the older of the two kids, by about a month or so, though she had also been at the Order much longer than Peter. She had been insanely jealous when Peter received his Innocence weapon. That envy still resided in her, even though she knew that both their parents were unhappy at Peter being taken into the Order like this at such an age. And now that Allen was being sent out again to look for more conformers, this time he had to take Peter with him, as the General in charge of Peter's training.

Lavi and Mandy were going with them, because Lavi had recently broken through the crucial Critical Point -- though he refused most of the General duties, and thus the promotion -- and so the Supervisor was assigning him as a form of escort to Allen and Peter. Mandy was going with them because it was safest for her to remain with her family, though the Supervisor wasn't too keen on sending her out on a mission like this.

Allen wasn't too keen on it either. Hence the fight going on in the main room of the apartment. And when Allen and Lavi got into a fight, it was best to clear the area and let them fight it out. They rarely raised their voices, and they never came to blows (despite both having somewhat tempestuous tempers), but when they got into a fight -- not just an argument, an actual fight -- it was best to get out of the way. The insults would often give way to hurtful words and both of them saying things they didn't really mean. Sometimes it seemed impossible for them to overcome their differences, but then abruptly, one of them would decide he'd had enough and would cave in and accept. And then everything would go back to normal. Mandy had no idea how it was that they did that; whenever she and Peter fought, and hurtful words were said, it was a long time healing.

Actually... Mandy perked up. The apartment had fallen silent. Motioning for Peter to be perfectly silent, she moved to the door and pressed her ear against it.

"I just hate this, Lavi. I don't want my kids to go through what I went through with Master Cross." Allen's voice was soft, but firm.

"So don't put them through it," Lavi retorted. "No one said you have to treat your students the way you were treated. Goddamn, Allen, how long have you been a General? You've had students before. Why is it any different with Peter?"

"Because he's _my son_ , Lavi! _Our son_!"

"Yes, I'm quite well aware of that. I don't think I need to remind you who found him."

"Kanda despises Tiedoll, Socalo's students all hated him, and Catherine didn't much like being in Klaud's tutelage. And God knows Master is the biggest prick this side of the Earl's own household!"

"Allen," Lavi said forcefully, "that's enough. General Cross is a despicable person, no one is denying that, but it's not fair for you to compare him to the Earl or the Noah. He does have one good trait, you know: he's a hell of an Exorcist."

"I never said he wasn't. But --"

"'But' nothing, Allen! I won't listen to you go off on another tirade about Cross! I'm _dead sick_ of it! You say the same things over and over!"

Mandy groaned. This fight was far from over. In fact, it sounded like it was about to go into that dangerous territory of "fighting dirty" that both of them used when neither would back down. That was why it was best to clear out of the way; when Lavi and Allen both stooped to that level, it was extremely uncomfortable for any onlookers. For as loving and affectionate as the two could be on a normal day, when they were fighting, it was generally ugly, and got uglier the longer it drew on.

"Besides," Lavi went on, "Yuu doesn't hate General Tiedoll at all. He acts like he does because that's just how Yuu is. Daisya revered him, and I know that Marie has nothing but the best things to say about him as well. Socalo's a freak of nature, and an ex-con. You can't expect him to be any better than Cross, but he isn't an extortionist. And Klaud is just a tough person. Catherine didn't like being with Klaud because she forced Catherine to work her ass off. You know how lazy Catherine can be."

"You're _not_ helping." Allen said bitingly.

"Allow me to remind you of something that you seem to be forgetting, Allen: _someone_ has to train Peter. He has an anti-Akuma weapon of Innocence now -- you can't change that. Someone has to train him into the position of Exorcist. I have no intentions of taking on the gold uniform, so it ain't gonna be me training him. If it's not you, it'll be one of the others. Same goes for Mandy -- you _heard_ Hevlaska. Mandy's definitely got Innocence in her blood, and it could mature and activate at any time. Who's going to train _her_ if you don't? You're the only parasitic-type General we have. You're the best one to help her adjust once she finally invokes."

"But -- "

"Dammit, Allen! _You can't change the fact that they're both conformers!_ Stop trying to shelter them, you idiot -- you can't keep shielding them from the reality. As a General and as a father, you _owe_ it to them to try and help them become the best Exorcists they can be."

There was a weighted silence. Mandy held her breath.

"Dammit, Lavi, I hate it when you're right. But why can't you stay here with Mandy?"

"Because I'm going with you -- Komui assigned me. And Mandy's safest with us. It's not fair to her to be left behind. Besides, her sense of hearing is almost as good as Noise Marie's hearing is without his earphones on. I bet you anything she can hear an Akuma coming before you can sight it."

"Oh please," Allen's voice was the verbal equivalent of an eye-roll. "I can sense them coming in plenty of time."

There was a long silence. Mandy carefully unlatched the door and pushed it open just a little bit, peeking out.

Allen and Lavi were close to each other, apparently having a stare-down.

"I hate fighting with you, Lavi," Allen said finally with a heavy sigh.

"Then stop doing it. Just get it through your head that I'm right, and we won't have this issue anymore."

"Lavi!"

"Oh come on, Allen, lighten up. Come on, get your coat on, we need to get going. I hope the kids are ready to go."

The next thing Mandy knew, she was sprawled on her stomach on the floor, with Peter standing over her grinning, and both of her fathers staring at her in surprise.

"I'm ready," Peter announced. "Can't speak for Sis, but I'm ready to go."

"Before we go, we're going to stop by Hevlaska's chamber to have her inspect your weapon, Peter, to see what your current synchro-rate is." Allen pulled his gold-trimmed greatcoat off the coat-rack and pulled it on.

As he was buttoning it up, Lavi hooked both arms around him and nuzzled against his neck. "Fight over, my sweet beansprout?"

"You idiotic rabbit-brat," Allen said without rancor, utilitizing a derogatory nickname Kanda Yuu had given Lavi years ago, "you _know_ I can't stay mad at you for long. That's what pisses me off the most, sometimes!"

Lavi just nibbled at Allen's ear; "And I care about that... why?"

"Lavi," Allen said warningly. "Now isn't the time or place for that."

"Au contraire, mon cheri, I think the kids need to see us make up after a fight."

"I'm sure you do think that."

"I'm serious! They need to see that we still love each other, and that a fight isn't the end of the road for a relationship."

Allen sighed and turned, allowing Lavi to kiss him on the mouth. After fifteen years of being lovers with this crazy redhead, he still got a mild charge out of Lavi's kisses, but he could control himself to not show it. Still, he could enjoy affections from his lover. And Lavi was a very affectionate person.

Finally, he hoisted his suitcase up, looked over at his family -- feeling a surge of pride at the children and their growth. They really were great kids, and he knew he and Lavi were very lucky to have them -- and then opened the door. As they stepped out the door, Allen noticed that General Kanda was just returning from a mission, trailed by his former student (now a full-fledged and experienced Exorcist) Gustav Svenhardt.

Just before going to his room, Kanda paused and handed something to Svenhardt.

"What the hell, General?" Sven retorted. "Why are you making me do this?"

"Because I can." Kanda retorted. "And I'm tired. Besides, you should have Hevlaska give Yggdrasil a once-over."

"Feh," Sven grumbled. "General, someday, I will kick your ass."

"I'd pay to see that," Allen said genially as they passed. "Though I think Kanda would more likely kick yours, Sven."

"Shut it, beansprout," Kanda said peevishly as he unlocked the door to his suite. "Get lost."

"Be nice, Yuu," Lavi smirked.

"I don't have to be nice, you goddamned idiot rabbit. Get lost and leave me alone." The General slammed his door loudly as a dismissal.

"Whatever," Allen waved his hand dismissively, "we need to keep moving." He reached for the door to the stairwell, and pulled it open. He waved both kids through, though he forced Lavi to halt. "I'm still not thrilled about this, I'll have you know. We don't know when the Noah will show up, and the last thing I want is to subject Mandy to them if she can't invoke."

"Relax, Allen. You and I will both be with both of them -- there's no reason on earth why the Noah would show up to give them trouble. Things'll be fine, you'll see. Nothing will happen."

* * *

Peter was almost skipping with excitement as they stepped out of the carriage at the train station.

"Calm down, Peter." Allen gave his son a firm look. "You're a representative of the Black Order now. You need to be on your best behavior."

"Sorry, Dad. I'm just so excited! I can't wait to test out my Innocence on Akuma!"

Allen's face became sour. "This isn't a game, Peter."

"I know that."

"Come on, guys, let's keep moving. We're blocking the road." Lavi herded his family toward the train platform.

"Mandy, dear, what's the matter?" Allen noticed that Mandy was fingering her neck.

"Nothing, Daddy. My throat just feels funny."

"Come along, sweetie," Allen put an arm around her shoulders, "and let me know if your throat starts hurting."

"I will," she said, though her voice was a bit ragged.

As they reached their box suite and took their places on the benches, Mandy forced herself to stop touching her neck. Her throat didn't just feel funny -- it hurt. Really hurt. But she didn't want to seem weak. They'd only just reached the mainland from England, and had reached the train that would take them further into France to begin their hunt for Akuma and Innocence. She wanted desperately to stay with her family, not get sent back to the Order because she was sick. She was determined to beat this... this... whatever it was.

Nevertheless, she was feeling pretty crappy, and when Lavi put an arm around her and pulled her close, she rested her head in his lap and tried to relax. The next thing she knew, she was prodding at her throat again, as if trying to figure out exactly where it hurt.

"Honey, why are you constantly fiddling with your throat? Are you coming down with something?" Lavi brushed her hand away from her throat, and then laid his hand on her forehead. "You don't seem to be running a fever yet."

"My throat just feels funny, Papa," she said. "I am not sick."

"And I'm not convinced," Lavi retorted, gently swatting her hand away again. "A sore throat is usually a first sign of something more insidious. Let me know if it gets worse, all right?"

She nodded and curled up, using his thigh as a pillow. She wrapped her misery around herself, trying not to moan with the pain. It almost hurt to breathe. It _definitely_ hurt to talk.

Slowly, as the train began to move, Mandy coaxed herself down into a troubled sleep. It helped that her Papa kept methodically stroking her hair, as if nothing in the world were wrong. Now if only she could convince herself that nothing was in fact wrong...

_I will not be left behind! I will go with my family, wherever fate leads us. This sore throat will not deter me. I will not be left behind!_

* * *

Sleep was like a sticky morass this time, she found. Surfacing from it was difficult.

"Sis!" Her shoulder was abruptly shaken by an external force. "Mandy! Are you okay?"

Forcing her eyes open, Mandy awoke to find herself and her brother alone in the box. "W-wha... w-where are Papa and Daddy?"

"They stepped out for a bit. Are you okay, Sis? You were moaning and crying. And you kept saying 'It hurts.' Bad dreams?"

"Um, yes. Very bad dreams."

"Sis, your voice sounds weird. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I am fine, Peter. Besides, I promised Daddy and Papa that I would tell them if anything got worse."

"Sis." Peter put his hands on his hips.

"What?"

"'Worse' implies that things are already bad. Therefore, not 'okay.' Don't lie to me, Sis. I can see that you're in pain. Please, tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong."

"Stop lying to me, Sis! I can tell something is wrong. You're clutching at your throat a lot, and you're moaning in your sleep. And your voice is weird."

"My throat just feels weird."

"More like your throat hurts, but you won't admit it. You heard Dad, Sis. This isn't a game. If you're not at the top of your game, you're a liability and should turn back."

 _Why does he keep throwing "Sis" into almost every sentence?_ She thought irritably. _He normally does not do that._

She stood up abruptly, pushing aside the coat that was covering her. "Stop worrying about me, Peter. You should worry about yourself; you now have an anti-Akuma weapon, which means you will be expected to defend yourself."

"At least I _have_ a weapon, Sis. You don't have one yet. I'm not experienced enough to protect you too, you know."

"There is no need for you to protect me, Peter. When my weapon awakens, it will be amazing. You can be sure of that!"

"I'm sure it will, and I'm sure it'll be more amazing than mine, but you can't predict when it'll mature and activate! Until then, you're at the mercy of our protection." Peter grabbed onto her cloak. "Please, Sis, I'm begging you, don't pretend that nothing's wrong if you're getting sick."

"I am not getting sick, damn it! You are the one who gets sick more than me, you know!" Despite the pain in her throat, she was determined to maintain the appearance that she was just fine. She spun around and pulled open the door to the box suite, stepping out in frustration. She rubbed at her throat in irritation, wondering what on earth was causing her throat to hurt so much.

"Sweetie, are you okay?"

She looked up to see her parents coming in the car from outside it; they must have been standing on the deck over the connectors. Probably getting some fresh air and some time alone. At times like this, Allen's hair was down from its usual ponytail or plait, and when combined with the ankle-length greatcoat, it often gave him the appearance of being a woman -- a flat-chested woman, yes, but if he had his hair down and was standing with Lavi, many people just automatically assumed he was a blonde woman. This made it a little easier for them to travel in public, since they still had to be discreet about their relationship in public. The few times they had traveled with the kids, they had presented themselves as mere friends each traveling with their own children (Lavi usually claimed Peter, since they had similar personalities and features; Allen and Mandy had similar mannerisms, so it was easy for them to play the part of natural-father-and-daughter).

"I was wondering where you went." She barely managed to eke out a coherent reply -- the gust of cold wind blowing in from the door made her throat seize in angry response. Her chest began to feel really heavy, and she put a hand against the wall, trying to keep herself upright with the swaying of the car. A cold sweat broke out on her brow.

A pair of strong arms enfolded her, scooping her up into a firm, cradling embrace. "Come on, sweetie; you _are_ sick. I can tell." Lavi cradled her gently against his chest. "I don't know why you're sick, but I intend to find out."

The next thing Mandy knew, she was on her back on the bench in the box-suite, with her head resting in Lavi's lap, while Lavi peered into her mouth. Allen held a flashlight over them, shining it down into Mandy's mouth.

"It's red, there's definitely some irritation, but I don't see any infection in there." Lavi pried Mandy's jaws further apart. "It's not strep throat. It could develop into that, but it's not there yet. Hold still, sweetie, and try not to gag." He pulled something out of a pouch, measured it, and then dropped it into her mouth. The liquid hit the back of her throat and made her retch, triggering the gag reflex.

"You never cease to amaze me, Lavi," Allen said admiringly. "You're almost as handy as Catherine."

"Ah, my techniques came from the old man, so they're really old and don't always work. They're mostly just remedies anyway, to help symptoms. Catherine can actually cure stuff, after all. I didn't ever get as proficient as Gramps with the needles, so I can't do as much good as he could, but again, we've got Catherine for that. I'm just hoping this will ease some of the discomfort for Mandy until we can get to an inn and put in a call to Catherine. We may need you to throw open the Ark, Allen, so she can come get Mandy, if Mandy's condition worsens."

"No," Mandy whimpered. "I want to stay with you."

"If you get sick, sweetie, you're in more danger with us than with Catherine," Allen said as he stroked her hair.

"You know how much we love you, honey, so don't fight it," Lavi reasoned. "If you're sick, the safest place in the world for you is with Catherine, and we need you to be safe."

"Well, I think it'd be a bad idea to try opening the Ark on the train," Allen said, "since the train's in motion -- the coordinates will keep changing each second. It's best to wait until we're stationary. So we'll wait until we get to Versailles."

"We're starting in Paris?" Peter exclaimed. Allen frowned at him and motioned for him to quiet down.

"We were going to change trains in Versailles and head for Orleans," Lavi explained, "but I think Allen's right, I think we need to shack up in Versailles and figure out what's wrong with Mandy before we go any further. Peter, you need to read the case-files given to you -- you'd know that that's where we were headed."

Mandy sat up and twined her arms around Lavi's neck, leaning against him. "Please, Papa. I want to stay with you all. Please do not make me go back to the Order alone." Her voice was barely audible with the pain in her throat.

Lavi hugged her gently. "I know, baby, but we can't endanger you any more than absolutely necessary. Your Daddy and I love you dearly, and we don't want you hurt in any way. I'm sorry, but this is how it has to be."

Despite her best attempts to stop them, the tears began to spill down her ruddy cheeks, and she sniffled painfully. "I hate this."

* * *

By the time the train pulled into the station in Versailles, the pain had become so overwhelming that it was all Mandy could do to remain conscious. She could tell that her family was extremely worried about her, and she silently cursed herself for being so weak that a mere sore throat -- no matter how painful -- could paralyze her like this, and worry them so. It hurt to breathe, talking was impossible now, and she could have sworn she was starting to get delirious with the pain.

She wasn't sure which of her fathers picked her up and carried her through the terminal, out of the station, down however many streets, and finally to a suitable inn. She was so focused on forcing her body to respire, forcing her throat to allow air to pass, that she couldn't bring herself to notice anything else. By now, the pain had been with her long enough and had messed with her thoughts enough that she couldn't remember now what it felt like to _not_ hurt. She couldn't remember what her own voice sounded like.

The pain had spread from the center of her throat up and down her vocal chords (at least, that's what she guessed) and now even her tongue and lower jaw hurt. She couldn't tell if her tongue was swollen or not, but it felt too big for her mouth now.

After a while, the pain abated enough for her to become somewhat aware of her surroundings. She was laying on a sofa of some sort, her head pillowed in Allen's lap. Allen was gently massaging her neck with his left hand. Lavi was on the phone, with a golem hooked up to the wires. Peter was standing nearby, and he looked frightened. There were tears in his eyes, but to his credit, he held them at bay for the moment. Exhaustion dragged Mandy's eyelids down.

After a long moment of silence, Mandy's heightened hearing picked up the voice on the other end of the phone line, echoing through the receiver.

"What's the matter, Lavi?" That was the nurse-Exorcist, Catherine Beauchamp.

"Catherine, we might need your help."

"I figured as much. What's the matter?"

"Mandy's sick -- it hit very suddenly a few hours ago, and it's just gotten worse; she's almost unconscious now. And all we can tell is that it's her throat."

"Her throat? As in, strep throat?"

"Well, not exactly. I had a look at it, and it's red and irritated, but there doesn't seem to be any infection. And there's no fever. Also, Peter's not sick, which is really, really unusual when Mandy's sick. Peter's always the first one to get sick. But he's fine."

There was a silence on the line. Mandy forced her eyes open and her vision swam with the pain, but she focused on her Papa's bright red hair until her sight cleared. He looked really agitated, restlessly tapping at his thigh.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, Lavi, and I may need you to ask Mandy these. Is she at all lucid?"

Lavi paused and looked over at them. "Mandy, honey, are you awake? Just raise your hand if you are, you don't need to say anything."

Weakly, she lifted her hand to signal him that she'd heard and understood.

"Yes, Catherine, she is, but only barely. She can't even talk."

"That makes this easier. First of all, I need you to ask her _exactly_ where it hurts the most, where the pain started. Ask her to point to it."

Responding automatically to what she'd heard, not even waiting for Lavi to relay the question, Mandy brought her hand up to her throat, gingerly touching her Adam's-apple. Tears sprang to her eyes instantly as a needle of pain lanced through her.

"Looks like it's her larynx," Lavi said, not even bothering to be amazed that she'd responded before he asked. "However, I've never known acute laryngitis to be that painful. I know it's uncomfortable, but this... I can tell she's in agony."

"I doubt it's simple laryngitis; like you said, it's not that painful in most circumstances. There's a chance there's an ulcer there, but I think that it has developed too quickly. Okay, next question: are her tonsils swollen?"

Lavi cradled the phone and leaned over Mandy, gently prying her mouth open and looking inside. "No, they don't look swollen to me. The back of her throat is red, but it's not really that badly inflamed. It's just irritated, mostly."

"Hmm," Catherine sounded as though she were mentally checking off a list of symptoms for a diagnosis. "Ask her if her throat was hurting, or ticklish, or at all out of the ordinary, when she left the Order building. Did this happen suddenly on the train, or was it as sudden as it seems?"

Lavi pursed his lips a moment; "Mandy, did your throat feel weird when we left home? Raise your hand if the answer is yes."

She firmly kept her hand down.

"Did you feel any discomfort before we crossed the channel?"

She kept her hand down again; she was grateful that he wasn't requiring her to try and talk, or to try and gesture with her head.

"So the discomfort happened once we reached France?"

Tentatively, she raised her hand a little.

"So that's it. She says it only started hurting once we got to France." Lavi turned back to the phone.

"Very strange. I know of no natural throat ailments -- short of direct injury -- that develop in a matter of hours to such a degree."

"I think I'll have Allen open the Ark. Can you come and get her?"

"Unfortunately, I can't leave. I imagine we can send Lenalee or Sven, but I can't leave."

"Lavi," Allen interrupted, "if we send Mandy home, you're going with her. I don't give a damn what the Supervisor says; your place is with your daughter, if she's this sick."

"Just a moment, Lavi." Catherine's voice shifted tones, sounding slightly distant for a moment. "I do have one more question, based on what Supervisor Komui just told me."

"Okay."

"Pay attention, because this question has nothing to do with medicine, and you'll need to ask General Walker for me."

Mandy felt her nerves tense, as if in anticipation. She couldn't explain why she felt like she knew what was about to be asked, or why she suddenly was aware of just what might be the problem, but between heartbeats, her entire body was on edge.

"My question to General Walker is this: Are there any Akuma or Noah in the vicinity."

"What? What kind of question -- "

"Just ask him! I'm serious!"

Lavi turned; "Allen, she wants to know if there are any Noah or Akuma around."

"I can't sense Noah, since they're human," Allen said, "and I don't sen -- _OH SHIT!_ " That last epithet came out with force as his left eye changed colors and developed the distinctive monocle.

"Fuck!" Lavi blurted out. "Catherine, thanks, but I think we're going to be busy now!" He slammed the phone down. "Allen, open the Ark!"

"How did they sneak up on me like that?!" Allen raged. "There's no way I could have missed that many Akuma! We gotta get out of here, before people are caught in the crossfire."

"Jesus Christ, Allen, _just open the goddamned Ark_!" Lavi roared just as the wall next to them caved under the weight of a round of volleys from a herd of Level One Akuma. Lavi grabbed Peter and jumped aside, while Allen scooped up Mandy and leaped back, away from the debris.

" _I'm trying_! It won't open on command!" Allen retorted angrily. "I can't get it to open. I've got the coordinates, but it won't open!" The other patrons -- and employees -- of the inn scattered as the Akuma swarmed in. Allen noticed that there were a number of Level Twos, and a pair of Level Threes. This was more than just a random accosting -- this was an ambush. _The only way they could have gotten this close to us without me sensing them would be to use the Earl's Ark, or Road Kamelot's door._

 _Dammit, Ark! OPEN UP!_ He was getting frustrated and desperate, trying to cover Mandy with his Innocence cloak while slashing at the Akuma with his claws.

Peter appeared in front of him, his Innocence gauntlet activated and thrumming with energy. With a vicious strike, the boy punched a Level One in the mask, causing it to explode.

In that moment, just when Allen was sure they had the upper hand, all hell broke loose. The Level Threes swooped in and ambushed Lavi simultaneously, forcing him to back up several times. The redhead tripped over some furniture as more Akuma swarmed in, demolishing the walls around them. At that same time, Allen was struck sharply in the nape of his neck by a fist, sending shockwaves up and down his spine. His limbs went limp, and Mandy tumbled from his grip to the floor.

"Shit!" He tried to activate his Clown Belt, but the blow to his nervous system had stunned him a lot more than he realized; he couldn't make his arm move fast enough.

In the blink of an eye, he couldn't move at all, as a gray squid-like tentacle wrapped itself around him, restraining his arms completely. At the same moment, a gruesome greenish-black tentacle (or something similar) wrapped itself around Mandy and lifted her off the floor. Allen felt his stomach flip in horror as he belatedly recognized that disgusting appendage.

"Tyki Mikk?!" He tried to twist in the grip of whatever held him, and spied out of the corner of his eye not one, not two, not three, but _four_ Noah. Road Kamelot, the First Noah herself, was sitting on the umbrella golem that belonged to the Millennium Earl, grinning like a child who had just won a game; Tyki Mikk stood nearby her, his left arm having converted into the tentacle that now held Mandy. Right behind Allen himself was none other than Lulubell, the Noah with the Power of Form, who could transform her body into virtually any substance. Her right arm had converted into a whip-like appendage and now restrained Allen.

The fourth Noah there was the one whose name Allen had never learned, the one who had been "captured" numerous times by the Order, only to somehow escape their grasp. She was the same one who had, five years or so ago, attacked Lavi and Catherine, and had been stopped by Catherine, apprehended by Lenalee, and somehow had still managed to escape. She had boasted once, some time later when she crossed Allen's path again, that she could not be held against her will.

"Careful, boy," Tyki Mikk drawled. "You don't want the little girl hurt, do you?" The tentacle curled suggestively around Mandy's neck.

"You fucking bastard!" Lavi snarled. "Using a child like that!"

"All's fair in war, Eyepatch," the Noah said lazily, flicking away a cigarette. Then he looked up at Road; "Good work, Road."

"Of course, Tyki! I'm the best there is, you know!" The girlish Noah giggled happily, belying her sadistic nature with her carefree laughter. "Allen doesn't know how to control that Ark perfectly. It's quite easy to interfere with his command over it." She grinned bloodthirstily at Allen, before turning to the other Noah, the one whose name Allen didn't know. "Sarita, you want to do the honors?"

"I can," the woman said after a moment, raising her arm. "The redhead first, I think."

"Wise decision," Tyki said languidly. "Eyepatch has been quite a troublemaker for a long time, hasn't he? Hey, boy," he added, glaring at Allen, who was trying to wrestle free of Lulubell's grasp, "just hold still if you don't want the little girl to be strangled." Mandy coughed weakly as the Noah tightened his grip on her.

Road was giggling from where she sat atop the umbrella golem; "Allen, just wait your turn. Sarita has to annihilate the ex-Bookman Junior first. And Lavi, if I were you, I wouldn't fight it either." She had her eyes trained on Peter, in such a manner that unnerved both Allen and Lavi immensely. "You remember what my dream-world is like, don't you?"

Anger and despair warred in Allen's heart. Were they really planning to kill Lavi right in front of him?! Lulubell had him restrained physically, and Tyki and Road had him restrained psychologically. If he tried to move to protect Lavi, Tyki would strangle Mandy; if Lavi moved to protect himself, Road would invade Peter's mind and break him.

What was he to do? There was no way in hell he was going to just give up, but no matter how he looked at it, someone he loved was likely to die. He racked his brain, frantically searching for a solution. There was no way that some other Exorcist was going to swing in and save the day; the Ark was closed to their travel, and there were no Exorcists in the area as far as Allen knew.

A ring of Level Ones descended from the air, circling around Lavi, with their guns leveled at him. Lavi had his eye locked on Road Kamelot, watching her even as she watched Peter. The intent of the Noah was pretty obvious -- they intended to kill Lavi by having the Akuma shoot him with their virus-laden bullets. As the guns fired, Allen felt a cry rip itself from his throat.

" **Wind Circle: Simultaneous Raging Gales, Wind Seal!** " A great whirlwind exploded from beneath Lavi's feet, spiraling furiously around him. A few seconds later, and a second attack, " **Ash Inferno, Fire Seal!** " rose over the wind barrier; the giant fiery snake engulfed the Level Ones and obliterated them.

"Bad move," Road said, her eyes narrowing. Two heartbeats later, and Peter slumped to his knees, his eyes losing focus, as the First Noah caught him in her dream-world web of deceit.

"Peter!" Allen slammed against Lulubell in an attempt to knock her off balance and force her to loosen her grip; she had him held so tight he couldn't get his claws up to do any damage to her.

"I'll remind only once more, _boy_ ," Tyki Mikk snarled, "one wrong move from you, and the little girl is history."

"You coward, Tyki!" Allen roared in desperation. "Fight me fair and square -- leave the girl out of this!"

"Sorry, Allen, no can do," Road sang. "Lord Millennium's orders."

 _This is not fair,_ Mandy thought as her consciousness returned to her. _These people are... they need to be punished. This is sadistic and wrong!_

As another ring of Level One circled in, this time encompassing Peter, with just a few circling Lavi, Mandy felt her blood boil with anger. _That is not fair at all! What kind of a fight is this? Hostages, using Akuma? These Noah... they are horrible people!_

Time suddenly ground to a halt, even as the Akuma cannons began to glow as they charged their shots.

 **Will you fight them?** A presence within her asserted itself. **Even though you are but a tiny girl, and they are four Noah whom even the General cannot take down, will you still fight them?**

_My family! They want to destroy my family! Whoever you are, if you can help me protect them, I will follow you!_

**Will you fight them? To the ends of your life and breath, will you fight them?**

_Yes._

**Then accept this power.**

With a lurch, time resumed, and the Akuma cannons all lit up simultaneously with their gunshots. There was no time --

Mandy threw her head back, opened her mouth, and _screamed_.


	2. Invoke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Noah attack has rendered Mandy helpless, caught up in Tyki's restraints. As the Noah take aim at her family, Mandy's anger spikes -- and triggers the maturation of her Anti-Akuma weapon, Banshee.

If there was one feeling Allen Walker despised, it was helplessness. He had dedicated his life to the saving of others. Knowing that his loved ones were in danger, and that he could do nothing to help them, was the worst feeling he knew -- even worse than losing someone precious to a freakish accident. Watching as a ring of Akuma took aim at two people that he held so dearly to himself that he'd do anything for them, Allen thought his heart was going to shatter right out of his chest. Lavi couldn't use the Wind Seal to protect himself _and_ Peter at the same moment. The Seal was not that flexible, and with the distance between himself and Peter, he couldn't possibly manage it in the short time necessary. So, no matter what, one of them was going to get killed.

As the Akuma cannons all lit up upon firing their rounds, Allen strained against his bindings, unable to hold still and watch as both his son and his lover were killed.

In that same moment, as the cannons fired, reality twisted into a most outrageous distortion. Out of nowhere, a high-pitched, piercing shriek was unleashed, and the Akuma all froze in place the moment the scream was uttered. The Akuma guns, in the process of firing, inexplicably missed, their barrels all being diverted by the seizing of movement. Allen couldn't tell in the chaos if Lavi and Peter had escaped getting hit, but he feared the worst.

Then he felt his brain begin to thrum, as though resonating with the sound. His left eye developed its soul-seeing monocle, and he witnessed something he wouldn't have believed if he wasn't seeing it with this eye: the dozen or so Level One Akuma still in the area all -- at the same moment -- ceased functioning, as the chains that bound their souls to their weapon bodies were shattered, freeing the imprisoned souls. In the chaos of the falling Akuma bodies, Allen glimpsed the Wind Seal spiraling protectively around Peter, and his heart ached; Lavi had apparently sacrificed his own life for Peter's, then. Which was exactly what Allen would have expected of his lover, but it still made him heartsick.

A few heartbeats later, Allen felt Lulubell's restraints loosen a little... just enough. With a roar of anger, grief and frustration, he dragged his claws up, pulling his left arm free, and twisted around, raking his claws across her face. The Noah released him, staggering back in surprise. Allen whirled around and drew his sword from his arm, taking aim at Tyki, to prevent him from killing Mandy too. If Lavi was gone (which he couldn't tell one way or another for certain because of all the debris and Akuma remains), Allen wasn't about to let his lover's self-sacrifice be in vain -- he was going to protect their daughter himself. His blood boiled with rage, but as he got the Noah in his sights, what he beheld took his breath away.

Tyki was doubled over, hands over his ears; the Noah had released Mandy, who was standing under her own power, her face set in a furious expression, and her mouth open wide. It took Allen a moment to realize what he was seeing -- Mandy was _screaming_ , and it was her scream that was affecting the Noah and the Akuma. Like the melody played by Noise Marie's Innocence strings, Noel Organon, there was something in the vibration of Mandy's scream that was...

The high-pitched keen increased in strength, and Allen got a glimpse of the Level Twos all being completely unchained exactly as the Level Ones had; the weapon bodies simply stopped moving as the souls were freed. There was no violence to their destruction, but they were destroyed all the same. The two Level Threes weren't downed yet, but they were suddenly cautious.

However, even more amazing was that the other Noah were reacting to the scream in similar fashion to Tyki: the one called Sarita was crouched on the ground, hands over her ears; Lulubell was now nowhere to be found; and Road had her hands over her ears, and looked like she was having trouble concentrating.

" **CROSS GRAVE!** " He hurled an attack at her, hoping to break her concentration even if he couldn't land a real hit on her. The ethereal crixa whirled through the air, and in Road's current state of mind, she didn't see it coming; the impact sent her tumbling off the umbrella, though with her cat-like agility, she landed easily enough. A heartbeat later, Mandy slumped to her knees in fatigue and the wail died off. Allen launched himself toward her, landing beside her and swaddling her in his Innocence cloak to protect her. He glanced over in Peter's direction. The Wind Seal was still active, which meant Lavi was still alive and conscious, though if he'd been hit by Akuma bullets, his time was limited. As a General-level conformer now, he could hold off the effects of the virus and slow their advancement, but he couldn't nullify them completely.

Road Kamelot pressed her hands to her temples and shook hear head violently. "I can't even think straight now. Damn you, little brat!"

"Screw this!" Tyki raged. "My head is splitting now! This isn't what I signed up for! Road, you and your ideas!"

"This isn't my fault!" Road snapped. "You're the one who didn't kill the brat when you had the chance!"

"Why don't you all just scram?" Sarita growled as she motioned to the two Level Threes. "This is my assignment anyway. Lord Millennium assigned this to me; the rest of you tagged along!"

Allen took a swipe at Sarita, but she dodged

"Looks to me like Lulubell is already long gone anyway," Tyki said. "Well, she didn't really want to do this anyway. I don't know how you convinced her to come along anyway, Road, but come on. We're going. I think this little 'assignment' is going to fail, and I'd just as soon not have Lord Millennium pissed at me."

Road grimaced and turned her gaze to Allen. "You're lucky this time, Allen. I was bored so I followed Sarita. I thought I'd get some entertainment, but you're no fun anymore. You got old!" She sounded accusing. "Oh well, at least it looks like we took out the ex-Bookman. It wasn't a total loss then. I'm bored of this. Tyki, you owe me a mountain of sweets."

"Huh?" Tyki blinked at her. " _You're_ the one who dragged _me_ along because you couldn't get Cyril to go!"

"You Noah bastards should know me better than to think you've gotten me with such a cheap trick," a scratchy, slightly groggy voice growled. Allen's heart lurched in his chest. "Underestimating me again, huh, Road? **COMBINATION SEAL! _DROWNING MAELSTROM!_** " A great vortex of water spouted up from the debris nearby, swung around in midair, and landed on the three still-stunned Noah.

In that same moment, Allen felt his connection with the Ark realign, and the gate he'd been desperately trying to force open abruptly burst open about two meters off the ground.

"We're leaving now, Sarita," Road caroled as she pulled open her own door and let Tyki disappear through it. "Good luck with your task." She waved happily at Sarita and disappeared through the door, which disappeared after her.

"Allen, is Mandy okay?" Lavi called over, shouldering aside a beam from the inn that had fallen near him.

"Yeah, she's exhausted, but she's unhurt."

"What was that scream?"

"Don't you idiots ignore me!" Sarita hissed, lunging at the redhead and bringing her hands towards his throat. Lavi stumbled as she reached him and crashed into another pile of rubble; the Noah was thrown over his head at the Wind Seal that was still spiraling around Peter.

Lavi was on his knees, leaning heavily on the handle of his hammer. Allen noticed that his uniform was badly torn, and there were pentacles spreading slowly from a tear on his shoulder. Allen's heart sank like a stone; Lavi _had_ been hit by an Akuma bullet. It was only a matter of time before he was obliterated by the virus, unless Allen could get him somehow through the Ark fast enough to get to Catherine. But with Sarita there, that was unlikely, because it was highly unadvisable for them to open the Ark's coordinates in the Order building if there was a chance a Noah could get there.

"Sorry, Allen," Lavi murmured as he tried to stand up again, swaying drunkenly. "Looks like I don't have much time left."

Sarita was coming at them again, and this time she had grabbed what looked like a meat cleaver. (Allen realized that the inn's kitchen was indeed right next to where they'd been, and of course had been destroyed. Sarita must have found the cleaver in the rubble.) Breaking through the Wind Seal, she raised the cleaver, in an attempt to strike the still-motionless Peter.

 _No!_ Allen panicked and tried to throw his Clown Belt, but Mandy was faster; she had been watching the chaos, and when she saw Sarita break the Wind Seal (which was weakening as Lavi's consciousness failed) she screamed again. Her scream seemed to break the final hold of Road's trance on Peter, and it also forced Sarita to stop her assault. Peter scrambled to his feet, looked around himself, apparently grasped the situation in a few moments, and cocked back his fist, letting a punch -- enhanced by his Innocence -- fly at Sarita's face. The Noah ducked and rolled, kicking her feet out to trip him, but he sidestepped easily and landed a punch on her shoulder. Allen breathed a sigh of relief at seeing that. It looked like all those training sessions Lavi had insisted upon with Peter from the boy's eighth birthday onward were paying off in spades, because Peter was outmaneuvering the Noah with ease.

However, Sarita had much better stamina than Peter, which was borne out within about thirty seconds of the fight commencing. Peter wasn't used to remaining in invocation, and so he tired quickly. Pretty soon Sarita was slamming him into rubble piles. Allen was just preparing to join the fray, having carried Mandy over to where Lavi was.

Then there was a _whoosh!_ sound and a streak of light brown. Something slim and long jettisoned out of nowhere and struck Sarita in the chest, throwing her back.

"What?" Allen uttered, his jaw swinging open, and followed the trajectory of the line back to its origins. To his astonishment, it extended into the Ark door. Just then, it retracted back.

 _That looks like Yggdrasil._ Allen thought. _But how could that be? I didn't have a chance to call for reinforcements. I just wanted the Ark open so we could take Mandy home, or perhaps Lavi._

"Oi, Beansprout, what the hell?"

That voice... A vein popped on Allen's forehead as Kanda Yuu and Gustav Svenhardt dropped out of the Ark door and landed agilely on the ground.

"This is quite a mess," Sven said, planting his Innocence weapon, a staff made of ash-wood called Yggdrasil, into the ground. " **Yggdrasil, Activate**." A flight of wooden steps grew out of the ground up to the door of the Ark. "General, I was under the impression that there were four Noah here. I only see one."

"Don't look at me," Kanda snarled. "Beansprout, we got a report over the golem network that you were ambushed by four Noah."

Allen blinked; "Golem network?"

"You do have a sentient golem that can transmit long-distance, you know," Sven said blandly as Kanda scoffed bitterly and activated Mugen.

"There were four. That one chased the others off," Lavi wheezed.

"We'll take over from here, General Walker. We're here to eliminate the Noah."

"Just stay out of the way, Beansprout."

Lavi moaned as the pentacles spread further, creeping up his neck. Allen panicked; if the virus reached Lavi's spinal chord, or any other vital organ, he would be dead in thirty seconds or less.

"I'm really sorry, Allen," Lavi murmured again. "It... looks like my time's up. How pathetic, huh?"

"Stop that, Lavi!" Allen struggled to keep the tears from spilling down his cheeks, even though he could see that both Peter and Mandy were crushed at the prospect of their beloved Papa dying such an ignominious death. "We'll get you fixed, somehow."

"How? I'm out of time." The irony of his words was borne out not five seconds later.

" **Time Record, Activate! Encircle Target! TIME OUT!** " Light yellow rings appeared around Lavi.

"Please do not move, Lavi," Miranda Lotto-Krory's voice called from the Ark gate. There was then a large black streak from the gate, and the next thing Allen saw was a black-gloved hand clamping onto Lavi's shoulder.

"You are a lucky, lucky bastard, Lavi," crooned the familiar voice of their long-time friend Arystar Krory III, whose Innocence was fully invoked; his eyes had inverted color and his white lock of hair stood up straight. "Thirty seconds more and you would be too far gone for help. Pardon me while I draw out the worst of that virus." The Romanian baron then sank his Innocence fangs into the side of Lavi's neck, directly over where the pentacles were spreading.

Allen, overcome with relief that it looked like Lavi would be saved at the last minute, turned his attention to where Kanda and Sven were pacing around Sarita. The Noah still had the meat cleaver in her hand, and had a steel or iron pipe in the other hand.

All three took action simultaneously. Sven transformed Yggdrasil into a spear and stabbed at Sarita, at the same moment that Kanda activated the Second Illusion of his blade, giving him two swords. Sarita, for her part, looked like a wolf who had its prey cornered. With a feral grin, she licked her lips and then suddenly seemed to split into two identical bodies. The two bodies -- only one of whom could actually be Sarita -- launched simultaneously at the General and his protege.

Lavi shuddered under Krory's ministrations. "Easy, Kro-chan. I don't want to bleed out, you know."

The baron thumped him and continued to methodically drain the tainted blood from the redhead.

Allen shakily reached into his hood and pulled Timcanpy out of the little pocket it was riding in. "Tim... did you send for help? Thank you. I'm grateful for your help." The golem's autonomy had clearly been Lavi's saving grace. He turned to his daughter, who was crouched next to him, fingering her throat. "Mandy, does your throat still hurt?"

"Yes, but not nearly as much as it did." Mandy coughed and wheezed. "Daddy, what happened to me?"

"You've synchronized with your Innocence, baby," Allen said gently, pulling her close to him. "Once we get your Papa stabilized, we'll take him and you both home to see Catherine."

"Daddy, please -- " She begged, her eyes wide with pleading.

"Honey, I'm not doing this to leave you behind. My mission is partly complete already; I've found another conformer. It's your turn to be inspected. Hevlaska will want to see your new weapon and inspect your synchronization rate."

"Then... my Innocence is...?"

"Your voice, honey. Your screams made the Akuma stop, and freed the souls bound to the machines. Now just take it easy. What you did was synchronize with raw Innocence; it's not easy on the body. You need to rest yourself so that it doesn't damage you. You've done more than enough right now. You bought us some time, and it looks like we're all going to be okay."

Allen turned his attention to the fight unfolding before him. He'd never really watched Sven and Kanda work together as a team. Frankly, he'd never believed that Kanda Yuu could even _work with anyone_ as a team. But there they were, both of them, working in complete concert. The flexibility of Yggdrasil to change its form to any weapon shape of Sven's wishes made it a handy weapon (though a sword made of Innocence-imbued ash wood was nowhere near as sharp as a strong or sharp as one made of tempered steel reinforced with Innocence), and with Kanda's superhuman speed, the two Exorcists had the two Saritas on the defense at all times. The two halves (or whatever they were -- clones maybe?) of the Noah were feverishly attempting to slash the two Exorcists, but neither Sven nor Kanda was allowing himself to be touched.

"Now, Sven!" Kanda shouted.

Sven transformed Yggdrasil into a long whip and with a sharp flick of his wrist, he lashed the two Saritas together.

"Miranda!" Kanda then yelled.

Miranda dismantled the Time Out over Lavi and turned her attention to the bound Noah; " **TIME OUT!** "

"Allen, do not move," Krory said as he paused in his task. "Leave it to Kanda and Sven. That is why Miranda and I were sent. Catherine could not get away, so I was sent in case anyone was injured, and Miranda was sent because any other form of restraint has not worked yet, so we thought her Time Out might pin that Noah in place long enough for Kanda to get her."

It looked as though the Time Out wasn't working that well, though, because both halves or clones of the Noah were straining against the bindings.

" _Arystar!_ " Miranda suddenly shrieked. " _Behind you!_ "

"What?" Krory looked instinctively over at his wife, even though she'd just warned him to look behind himself. Fortunately, Allen was faster. The white webbing of the Clown Belt extended abruptly out around them all, and the two Level Threes, that had been skulking in the shadows, waiting for a chance to pounce the injured Exorcists, were bound tightly in the webbing.

"You thought I wasn't aware of you two?" Allen growled, eyeing them both. "I can see your souls. There is nowhere in range that you can hide. I was waiting for you to get within _my_ range." With a roar of pent up rage and frustration, Allen stood up to his full height, pivoted abruptly, and brought his sword around, cutting through both Akuma with the air cascading off the leading edge of the blade.

Sarita must have realized the futility of her situation, as the two clone-halves of her suddenly, abruptly, divided again. The two new clone-halves appeared outside of the bindings of Yggdrasil and outside of Miranda's Time Out. Both clone-halves then bolted in opposite directions. Allen hurled his Clown Belt after them binding both up quickly just as Kanda beheaded the two bound by Yggdrasil. Then, without losing an ounce of momentum, Kanda and Sven then tackled the other two clone-halves, with Sven transforming Yggdrasil into a field-scythe as he moved. Within a few seconds, all traces of the Noah were erased into dust.

"Another Noah to your credit, General?" Sven inquired as he let Yggdrasil revert to its dormant form, a two-meters-long staff of ash-wood.

Kanda snorted; "No. She got away again."

"Are you sure?" Sven toed the pile of ashes at his feet.

"She escaped, you idiot. Trust me. That's annoying."

Sven swore under his breath. "Well, I guess we need to get the injured home."

"Beansprout, you damned idiot. Can't even protect your own family. Tch! You're absolutely useless, you white-haired idiot."

Krory stood up, hauling Lavi to his feet as he did so. "We should go."

Allen, swallowing the bile that had begun to pool in his mouth at Kanda's comment, helped his kids to their feet and guided them both up the stairs. Peter and Mandy were both completely exhausted, to the point of stumbling.

_Kanda's right; I was completely useless. I was frozen in fear. That's just not like me. I don't get it -- why did I have so much trouble? Why couldn't I protect my own kids? Dammit, even Lavi was more use in this fight than I was!_

"Don't blame yourself, Allen," Lavi said as they passed through the Ark. He was eyeing Allen pointedly even as he leaned on Krory's strength. He reached a hand out and settled it around Allen's waist, pulling him close. "I'm the one who couldn't dodge the bullet. I should've been able to, except I was throwing the Wind Seal at the same time."

Allen shook his head, unable to answer for the lump forming in his throat.

 _The lives of my children were on the line, and I was_ useless _. Bugger it all, I was of no use to anyone except when those Level Threes attacked. I didn't even see the attack coming -- Catherine predicted it, and she's back in HQ!_

They passed through another door and emerged in Komui Lee's office. Lenalee Lee was there to greet them, and she did so by fussing over them all. She pulled the family of four from the gate and set them all up on the soft couch, ordering one of the loitering scientists to go get water for the Exorcists, and sending someone to get Catherine Beauchamp.

Komui Lee surfaced from a sea of documents, looking at the four on his couch. "What happened over there? We got a transmission from Timcanpy that you were being attacked by at least three Noah, and there was evidence that there was a fourth one. Then the transmission went dead. I sent General Kanda and Sven into the Ark and told them to watch for a door that leads to Versailles."

Catherine arrived then and started administering to Lavi's injuries without a word, pouring her Innocence water onto the wound that had had the highest concentration of pentacles.

"I'm not exactly sure what happened," Lavi said, "one minute I'm on the phone with Catherine, worrying about Mandy, and the next minute, everything goes to hell in a handbasket. The entire inn got completely obliterated."

"We left General Kanda and Sven there to deal with that part of it," Miranda said as she and Krory stepped out of the Ark. Allen silently closed the Ark door down, still not convinced that Sarita or Lulubell wouldn't get through there.

"Mama! Papa!" A bright young voice caroled as a little streak of black and white came darting across the floor and launched itself into the air at Krory and Miranda. Krory caught the ball of fluff and movement, which resolved itself into their four-year-old daughter Angela. The little girl had the pale complexion of both parents, her mother's big, inquisitive eyes, and her father's rich black hair.

"Angie," a metallic voice called after her as the Science Division's robot-ghost creature Rokujuugo came hovering over. "You shouldn't take off like that." He spoke gently and affectionately, despite being somewhat intimidating to look at, considering his massive size. Angie wasn't the least bit afraid of him; she was just ecstatic to see her parents.

Rokujuugo loved children, and made an excellent babysitter for when Krory and Miranda were gone on missions. Some of the higher-ups in the Black Order that were stationed within the Vatican had tried to take Angie away from her parents and give her to foster parents because it was believed that the two Exorcists would not be able to focus on their tasks if they had to worry about their daughter. However, Komui and the rest of the Order had stood their ground, and Krory and Miranda had threatened to leave the Order entirely, renouncing their Innocence, if that was the case. In the end, the Vatican had backed down, but that didn't mean that the two Exorcists were granted any reprieve. That was where Rokujuugo came in; since he was largely supportive of the Science Department, and because he wasn't human, he could babysit up to three children at once and still perform his duties without a hitch.

Komui rubbed at his shoulders in fatigue. "I need to know what's going on, Lavi. What happened?"

"Aside from being attacked by a bunch of Akuma and four Noah? I have no fucking idea." The redhead grimaced as Catherine's ministrations apparently caused him some pain. "I'm not even sure what all happened in the interim. I know they tried to use the kids against us, and they kept trying to shoot me up with the Level Ones. And at least one of them got me. But otherwise? Uh, Allen?"

"Mandy invoked," Allen said simply.

Komui blinked. "Say again?"

"Mandy invoked. She has parasitic-type Innocence in her throat, and her weapon appears to be her voice, or at least her vocal chords. When she screamed, the scream caused the Akuma to all halt, and the chains binding the souls to the machine bodies were broken on the Level Ones and Twos. The Level Threes were sturdier and didn't seem overly damaged, but I imagine that with some instruction and a higher synchro-rate, she'll be able to take them out too."

"So the sore throat really was her Innocence?"

"I can only assume as much. I think we should have her inspected by Hevlaska, after Catherine gives her a thorough examination. Mandy says her throat still hurts, just not as bad as it did prior to invocation."

"One question," Komui said as he snapped out of his amazed stupor. "When you first invoked your Innocence way back when, did you have this kind of pain?"

"No, I don't recall ever having this kind of pain, but I did have a lot of trouble even using my left arm until after the Innocence matured and activated that first time. Well, I can say that I had a lot of physical pain when I revived it and activated Crown Clown, but... that wasn't so much the fault of the Innocence. It was because I'd been careless with it and basically over-used it."

Catherine put her hands on her hips; "Okay, time for you little runts to get the once-over." She smiled at the kids to take the sting out of her words. "I hear Mandy's been quite the burden."

"She made up for it!" Peter said defensively. "I heard Sis' voice in that dark world thingy that that Noah stuck me in. I heard her voice screaming to me, and I was able to follow it."

Catherine gestured to the kids to follow her; "I'm not surprised by that, given what General Walker just said. Now come on."

* * *

"So, Little Sarita, you failed, did you?" The Millennium Earl took a delicate bite of the dessert in front of him.

Sarita flinched, trying not to meet anyone's eyes. She could feel the eyes of the other Noah boring into her though. She wanted to gouge out the eyes of that grinning fop bastard Cyril, but she didn't dare. The Exorcists didn't know her weakness; the other Noah did. And with her continued failures to kill even one Exorcist, Sarita was at the bottom of the ladder, the fodder link in the food chain.

She bowed before the Earl; "Lord Millennium should punish me accordingly. I did not factor in a second General showing up."

"Sounds like Road being there was beneficial, actually," Cyril Kamelot said serenely. "You didn't start having a lot of trouble until she left, after all. Right?"

Sarita ground her jaws, gnashing her teeth and thinking horrible things at Cyril. "Actually, it was when that screaming banshee decided to break my eardrums that everything went to shit."

Road made a comical (and ironic) face at Sarita's expletive. "Ooh, Sarita. Watch your mouth in Lord Millennium's presence. You know he doesn't like that kind of talk." She giggled and bounded over to the Earl, throwing her arms around his big shoulders. "Right, Lord Millennium?"

"You know, Sarita," the Earl said, ignoring Road's antics, "I'm quite disappointed in you. You should know better by now, having fought those Exorcists, that they tend to back each other up, and that one General has a habit of showing up late in the fight. Why are you not learning your lesson?"

She bowed deeply, almost groveling. "I am a fool, Lord Millennium. Please just punish me and let me get on with it, so that maybe I may be of use to you."

"You're of no use to me as you are right now. How long will you need to recover now?"

Sarita sighed; "Four days, Lord Millennium."

"Hmm. Well, nothing for it, I suppose. Go rest up." That was a dismissal, even if it sounded like an option. Sarita bowed once more and exited the room, but as she did, she heard Tyki and Cyril make biting remarks about her failures.

Her blood boiled. How dare that Cyril in particular be critical of her! He'd never killed an Exorcist with his own hands! She was willing to allow Tyki to be critical of her, he had the highest record of Exorcist kills. But Cyril...

 _Augh_. She rubbed her brow in weariness as she stepped through the Ark doors to her water chamber. There, she waded into the small river and submerged herself.

Four days. Four wasted bodies, one day per body. Damn those Exorcists. Damn them to hell.

* * *

"I feel rotten, Lavi. So damned useless," Allen muttered. He and Lavi were in the lounge now. Catherine was checking over Peter and Mandy in her medical room, giving them both thorough examinations.

"Why?" The redhead rotated his arm experimentally, testing the healing wound on his shoulder.

"Because I _panicked_. Over and over again. I did nothing but panic. That's not like me! What the hell kind of General am I? Why do I need Kanda to save my ass?"

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Allen. You're a father whose children were targeted by _four Noah_. Okay, granted, at least two of them were tagging along because of Road's curiosity, but still. _Four Noah_. The last time you and I dealt with two Noah at the same time was fifteen years ago. You had every right to be freaked."

"You didn't freak, Lavi."

"Wanna bet? Which of us got hit with Akuma beams?"

"I don't recall them _aiming_ at me."

"And I barely was able to protect Peter, you'll notice. I was just as useless as you. If Mandy hadn't awakened her weapon, Peter would be dead, and so would Mandy. Me being dead would've been a merciful footnote. Which would make us _both_ failures as fathers."

Allen looked away; clearly, this was bothering him a lot more than it was bothering Lavi.

The redhead acted on impulse and pushed Allen against the wall, planting his hands on either side of him to pin him. To his dismay, Allen just submitted to the rough-handling. It was like all the momentum had been sucked out of him. He just... existed. Reacted. It was all wrong. Lavi didn't like it one bit, either.

"Allen," he said severely. "Look at me, dammit."

Allen turned his stormy gray eyes to meet Lavi's. There was pain and emptiness at war there. All this over a narrowly-avoided tragedy? What the hell?

Lavi planted a forceful, almost bruising, kiss to Allen's mouth, nipping his lower lip as he did so. Allen didn't react. This made Lavi angry, and he slammed his shoulder against Allen's shoulder, pushing him hard against the wall. Still no reaction. This was aggravating; Allen was a kind, gentle person, but he didn't take well to being pushed around. In fact, he didn't take it at all, in most circumstances. And he almost never let Lavi push him around like this (not even in foreplay). This was unacceptable.

Finally, Lavi stepped back, raised an arm, and backhanded Allen across the face; "Dammit, who the fuck are you, and what have you done with _my_ Allen?" The force with which he struck caused Allen to fall to the ground in surprise.

"Ow, dammit, Lavi, what the hell was _that_ for?" Allen retorted almost simultaneously.

"Stop moping around, dammit! That's not like you at all! You're not my Allen Walker when you act like this, and I won't stand for it! Get over your self-incrimination and stand the fuck up! If you don't, I'll beat you black-and-blue until you come to your senses. Dammit, you didn't fail them; you got _ambushed_. I was there too. You did _nothing wrong_. Our enemy is not mindless; they're smart and they know our weaknesses. We misjudged their locations. I'm just as much at fault as you."

There was an unbearable silence for about thirty seconds as Allen stared at him owlishly. Then, abruptly, he pressed a hand to his forehead, leaned forward a little bit, and started chuckling.

"What the hell is so funny?" Lavi growled, clenching his fists.

"You're right, Lavi. I've been acting childish. I'm sorry."

"Hmph. Just don't let it happen again. Instead of moping around and convincing yourself you're a bad General and bad father, why don't you focus on ways to make sure it doesn't happen again? For one thing, now both of the kids are active conformers, and both were discovered as such by you, which means they'll both be assigned to you; they're your students now. This way you can look after them, and train them accordingly. I told you before, I have no intentions of taking on the gold uniform, so I imagine that Komui can keep assigning me to your squad as well, to help train the kids." He held a hand out to Allen, to help him up off the floor.

"Sorry, Lavi. I didn't mean to worry you." Allen dusted off as he stood up. Catherine was approaching with the two kids following her. "Looks like we need to head to Hevlaska's chamber now. How's your throat, sweetheart?" He directed that last line to Mandy in particular.

"It still hurts, but it is getting better." Mandy was clinging to Peter's arm, apparently extremely intimidated by the thought of being examined by Hevlaska. Or rather, as was borne out by her next words, it wasn't Hevlaska she was concerned about; "Daddy, do I have to be examined by Mr. Komui?"

"Oh god!" Allen went pale for a moment in memory. "I hope not."

"I already looked her over," Catherine said authoritatively. "She's had enough trauma today. If the Supervisor still wants to look her over, he'll have to wait."

Lavi grinned; "And you have authority over him... how?"

"I manage his arthritis for him. If he wants me to continue managing it for him and keeping his joint pain to a minimum, he'll do as I say, as the nurse in charge of higher-ups. Go on, don't keep Hevlaska waiting."

By now, Komui had arrived with a clipboard in hand. "Time to take you to Hevlaska, Mandy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Sarita" comes from the Sanskrit word for "river" which is why I have Sarita going into a little stream to heal herself.


	3. Banshee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Mandy is inspected by Hevlaska, Lavi takes a brief trip down memory lane; later, Allen expresses concern over Mandy's safety now that they know the Earl is after the kids.

"Peter, stop fidgeting!"

"I can't help it, Papa, I'm worried about Sis!"

"Well, stop that. She's fine. You know your Dad's with her."

"Yeah, but the Grand Generals scared the hell out of me when I was down there!"

"Watch your language, Peter, you know your Dad would box your ears if he heard you talk like that. And don't worry, he won't let them intimidate Mandy any more than necessary."

The boy pouted and gave his father a thoroughly disgusted "you're-not-listening-to-me!" look.

Lavi heaved a sigh and ruffled Peter's auburn hair. "You need a distraction, don't you? Let's see what we can do."

The lounge door opened and Kanda and Sven came in, both looking tired and annoyed. Kanda in particular looked really put out. Sven just looked exhausted.

Kanda didn't even give Lavi and Peter the slightest greeting as he passed them. Peter kind of shrank back, as if putting his father between himself and the sour-faced General. Sven, on the other hand, nodded respectfully at Lavi and took a seat on one of the sofas, propped up his feet on a table, and promptly dozed off.

Lavi smirked to himself and looked around the lounge for something to occupy Peter with. The lounge was surprisingly bare. He was just going through some mental exercises in his head, trying to figure out which would would distract Peter the best, when he became aware of the little runt rummaging around in one of the pouches belted at his waist.

"Oi, what are you doing?"

"I have an idea," Peter said, his eyes sparkling with mischief. He held up a grease pencil. "Wanna help, Papa?"

Lavi blinked at his son in confusion. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not." Peter grinned that infernal grin that made it impossible for Lavi to be angry with the boy. It was a grin that Lavi himself had used in his youth on the old Bookman. In retrospect, he realized that the old Bookman had to have had a hardened heart, because he'd been able to resist Lavi's charms when he was really angry. Though now that Lavi thought about it, the one who disciplined Peter the most was Allen, not himself. _Guess I'm not so great a father after all. Ehn, well, I didn't have the best example. Allen had an example._

Peter climbed carefully onto a sofa, and Lavi realized a bit too late what was going on; "Peter, I really don't think you should do that to Sven!" But of course it was already too late; Peter was doodling on the sleeping Dane's face.

 _Shit. Allen's going to kill me!_ Lavi mentally slapped himself in the forehead. Just then, Sven's hand reached up and gripped Peter's wrist.

"I should break your arm for that, you little brat," the blond Dane snarled. "Were you not a General's son, I would. Now get lost."

"Well, it was fun while it lasted," Peter said with a pout as Lavi pulled him away.

"Peter, honestly. Don't get me wrong, I did that kind of thing a lot as a kid, but damn, pick your targets better!"

Peter made a face at his Papa; "So now what? I'm so _bored_ , Papa!"

 _Don't scold him_ , Lavi told himself. _He's just a boy; try something that Gramps used to use on you! Or you could do like Allen does with Mandy -- give him some math problems to puzzle with, to keep his mind occupied._

That sounded more promising, so he dug out a slip of paper from his pouch and scribbled onto it a few brain-stretcher problems. "All right, Peter, try these out. And no cheating."

Happily, the boy settled down at one of the tables with a pencil and started to work on the problems. Lavi plopped himself into the sofa nearest Peter and kicked his feet up onto the sofa arm.

"Papa?"

"Mmm?"

"How did you and Dad meet anyway?"

"How did we meet? I met him just outside the Rewinding Town right after he recruited Miranda Lotto. He was all beat up by Road Kamelot." Lavi chuckled. "He was such an immature little beansprout at the time, all self-righteous. He'd forgotten what being an Exorcist means, so much so that when he lost use of his left eye for a while, he felt crippled. I like to think I helped a little bit in changing that. In any case, your Dad and I hit it off pretty quickly. Of course, given who he'd worked with in previous missions, I guess it's not a surprise we became fast friends."

"When did you realize how you felt about each other?"

Lavi blinked. _Christ, what the hell? This kid is asking some seriously mature questions. What kind of crap does Allen fill their heads with when I'm gone?!_

"Just work on your problems there, Peter."

"Okay." Peter turned his attention fully to his brain-stretchers.

Meanwhile, Lavi found himself stumbling backwards in time, down Memory Lane.

* * *

_"Lavi, what's the matter? You've been acting weird. I'd almost say you're avoiding me, except you're not. But you're distant, more so than usual. You haven't hardly teased me at all since we got back from the Ark, now that I think of it. What's going on?"_

_"I need to talk to you, Allen. I need to tell you something serious and important."_

_"Well, we're here," the young Exorcist said as he gestured around him at the inn room. The room was spacious and tastefully decorated, with wood paneling on the wall and soft golden-brown drapes over the window. It was a comforting place, and it felt like anything could happen here and there'd be no ill consequences... "Should we wait until the others get back?"_

_"No, that's why I want to tell you now. This is just between us." Lavi raked his fingers through his hair in agitation. "I hope this doesn't ruin our friendship, Allen; that's the last thing on Earth that I want."_

_"Why would anything ruin our friendship, Lavi?" Allen sounded alarmed._

_"Because this kind of thing has the potential for that." Lavi swallowed painfully. This was going to make things so damned awkward between them, and yet he had to tell Allen. He just had to._

_While Allen quieted down, Lavi dredged up the courage he'd nearly lost. "Allen, there's something important about me that you need to know."_

_His courage failed him right then._

_"Go on."_

_"I... ah... that is..."_

_"Lavi, are you sure you're okay? Did something happen on the Ark that you're not telling me?"_

_"Something, as you say, did kind of happen." He would have been appalled at his weak-willed behavior, if he weren't so focused on just getting the damned statement out. "I... uh... dammit. Allen, look, I... that is to say... I think I've fallen in love with you." The words tumbled out of his mouth in a waterfall of emotion and frustration._

_"What?" Allen blinked at him, as if he hadn't heard right._

_Lavi wanted to hit himself, and Allen, for this. This was not at all what he'd envisioned. He wanted to just say "Naah, kidding, pay it no mind!" but this was too important; Allen needed to know how Lavi felt because Lavi himself didn't trust himself to not react irrationally because of it._

_"Say that again, Lavi? I think I misheard you."_

_"No," Lavi growled. "You didn't mishear me. I said I've fallen in love with you."_

_"You know," the white-haired Exorcist said wearily, "this isn't a funny joke at all. I wish you'd stop."_

_"I'm not joking! Christ, Allen, I don't joke about something this important; you should know that!_ I _wish_ you'd _take me seriously for once!"_

_"But, what about... all those girls? I mean, you go on about pretty girls and when you see a really pretty one, you're all 'Strike!' when you see her, and... what the hell, Lavi? Why me?"_

_"I... don't know. I wish I knew, believe me. I'm confused and upset and I don't know what the hell is going on, but I do know how I feel." He walked abruptly over to the wet bar cabinet and pulled out a glass and a bottle. "I think I need a drink."_

_Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Allen's face fold up in contempt._

_"Don't start judging me based on Cross," he said acidly. "Not everyone drinks the expensive stuff or needs to drink hordes of it. I just want something to take away the sour taste in my mouth."_

_He poured a liberal dose into the glass and swigged it down, eschewing protocol with wine in favor of washing out the metallic taste of self-recrimination from his mouth. He wanted nothing in the world so much as to just drink this bar completely dry, to forget about Allen and the Ark and his traitorous heart, but he knew that this wet bar wasn't stocked with strong wines; even if he drank them all in short order, it wouldn't be enough. If anything, he'd just end up with a killer headache. Not to mention the fact that he'd end up having to face reality soon enough anyway. Escapism had one major drawback: it was never permanent._

_The wine wasn't even very good, really. Kind of bitter. Or something. Maybe that was the metallic taste in his mouth._

_"You... really_ are _serious, aren't you." Allen's voice, thin and somewhat weak with shock, rose from where he sat. "You... you really feel that way?"_

_"Did I stutter?" Lavi snapped peevishly, and then flinched at his own antagonism and elaborated; "I assure you, Allen, this isn't easy on me. I'm a bookman; I'm not supposed to have a heart. Not only that, but I'm not supposed to get attached to anyone. And all of that aside, dammit, why the hell am I falling in love with another man?!" The old panda was going to have a field day with him, he could see it from here. He would have to brace himself for being beaten within an inch of his life. "You know, Allen, if you can, maybe it'd be best if you forgot I said anything here. This is clearly a bad idea."_

_"No," Allen said softly, but firmly. "I can't just forget it."_

_"Try to. Honestly, I think it's for the best if we both forget it. I'll get over it sooner or later."_

_"I don't want to forget it!" The younger Exorcist looked angry. "And what do you mean by saying you'll 'get over it sooner or later' anyway? Are you presuming that you're the only one whose feelings have changed?"_

_"Huh?" Lavi blinked at him. "Run that by me again?"_

_Allen heaved a sigh; "I... I don't know. I never really thought about any of these thoughts or feelings. And yet... I should be shocked at what you said, and yet I'm not." He turned troubled gray eyes up to look at Lavi. "I... I'm not sure, but I may feel the same, Lavi. I've never really considered this kind of feeling before, for anyone. I know that you're far more dear to me than I would have thought prior to going onto the Ark."_

_Hope blossomed in Lavi's chest, with such speed and agility that he feared it would wither as quickly if he didn't act. He set the wine glass down and navigated over to where Allen was still sitting. "Allen, look at me."_

_There was a soulful fearlessness in Allen's eyes, and yet behind that courage was a deep-seated anxiety, a fear -- for lack of a better word -- of getting attached to someone again. Allen had always held his friends close, but no closer than arm's length._

_"I don't know anything about how I feel, Lavi," the younger Exorcist said. "I've had to bury my feelings for so long. But... hearing you say those words gave me hope. Hope that I can't explain. So please, don't take your words back now."_

_Lavi nodded in acceptance of this almost-confession. "If I were to kiss you right now, Allen... what would you do?"_

_There was a glint of mischief in Allen's eyes, so fleeting that Lavi almost wondered if he'd imagined it. "I don't know... why don't you test it to find out?"_

* * *

" _ **LAVI!**_ "

Lavi jerked, nearly falling off the sofa as he did so. "Wha-huh?"

Allen's face was right in front of him, folded into an expression of concern; "Are you okay? You don't usually sleep that soundly."

It took Lavi a moment to get his bearings. He was in the lounge... both of them were in torn and soiled uniforms... _Oh, right!_

"Sorry, dozed off, I guess."

"No kidding." Allen pressed his thumb to his tongue and then rubbed the digit against Lavi's cheek, as if wiping something off. "Looks like your son takes after you, too."

"Huh?" Lavi brought a hand to his face, felt something greasy, grabbed Allen's rose-cross badge and glanced in the reflection, then glared at Peter. "You little...! Argh! As if doodling on Sven isn't bad enough!" He rummaged around in his pouch for a cloth and started rubbing at the doodles. Thankfully, it was grease-pencil, which would rub off fairly easily with vigorous rubbing,

"Yeah," Allen said with a good-natured snort. "I heard about that. I should smack you for letting him do it, but I'll let it slide for now, since you clearly got what was coming to you." He stood up from where he was perched on the edge of the sofa. "Come on, let's go to the cafeteria. Mandy and I are both starving."

"Okay, fine, though I'm not very hungry."

"I really don't give a damn how hungry or not-hungry _you_ are, Lavi!" The General swatted his lover affectionately.

Lavi stood up and rubbed at his face, stopping by a window to glance at his reflection and remove what else he could. "What's the word on Mandy's Innocence?"

"I'll tell you more once I've gotten some food into me. Now hurry up!"

Lavi followed his family out of the lounge to the elevator, musing as he walked. He wasn't sure exactly why he'd recalled that moment in a Southern France inn with such vivid detail, but it was a kind of pleasant memory. After all, it had set into motion the series of events that eventually led to him being here. That first kiss of theirs had been messy, clumsy, sloppy and overzealous, but it had been honest, and it had been their first.

To this day, Lavi still had no idea why he had fallen in love with Allen. He felt no attraction for any other male. In fact, he really felt no true attraction for anyone else, though he certainly could appreciate a beautiful woman (and he loved to tease Allen by doing his "Strike!" routine at odd times, just to get a rise out of his lover and to reassure to himself that Allen still cared). Frankly, if he was honest with himself, if Allen hadn't come along, he would have considered himself to be quite firmly heterosexual.

Mandy sidled up to Lavi and rested her head against his side. He put his arm around her and held her close, taking a moment from his reminiscing to just bask in the pure bliss of fatherhood. These kids meant the world to him, and he was insanely proud of their growth.

"How's your shoulder, Lavi?" Allen inquired as the elevator descended.

"Eh?"

"You got hit by Akuma beams, remember?"

"Ah, that, yeah, it's fine. The muscles are a bit sore, but that'll go away in a day or so."

"You're going to be pissed at me," the General said as he looked away.

"Oh?"

"I'll explain more when I've gotten something in my stomach, but I know you're going to be mad."

Lavi shrugged; whatever it was, it wasn't worth getting upset about right now.

As they moved into the cafeteria, Lavi spied Miranda and Krory, along with their little girl, at one table. He steered Peter over to the table to procure some seats for them there.

"Fancy meeting you lot here," he said brightly as he and Peter pulled up chairs at the table.

"Mmm," Krory said around a mouthful.

"So you're okay?" Miranda inquired genially.

"Right as rain, as they say."

"Pfft," Krory scoffed softly. "You have never been 'right as rain,' Lavi."

"You have a point there."

"And you have a weird black mark on your face right here," the Romanian baron added, indicating on his own face the location of the errant mark on Lavi's.

Lavi made a face and scrubbed at it with a napkin. "Thanks; the runt here got me." He tousled Peter's hair roughly.

"What about you, Peter?" Miranda turned her smile to the youngster. "How are you? You had quite an ordeal."

"I'm fine. Especially now that I know Sis is okay. I was more worried about her than anything."

"Which means that Road didn't mess with you nearly as much as she wanted me to think she did," Lavi said. "Since I know what she's capable of, I feared the worst."

"How did you manage to get cornered by _four_ Noah anyway?" Krory paused in his eating to fix Lavi with a stern look. "You both dropped your guard, apparently."

"We were worried about Mandy; she seemed to get ill very quickly, which is unheard of for her. And besides, they used the Earl's Ark."

About that point, Allen and Mandy arrived, having already placed their orders. Lavi got a good look at Mandy, and his concern surfaced; she looked troubled and worried.

As the two pulled up chairs at the table, Lavi leaned forward; "Okay, Allen. Spill. What's the scoop on Mandy's Innocence? And don't give me that crap about wanting food in your stomach first -- you've placed the order, so it's coming. Now come on. I want to know how the hell a kid with a brand-new weapon can wipe out a herd of Level Ones and a bunch of Level Twos! Even _I_ had trouble with Level Twos the first couple of times I encountered them."

Allen chuckled; "Well, Hevlaska explained that one. This was Mandy's first invocation, and Hevlaska said that first invocations are sometimes stronger than normal, especially for parasitic-types, because it usually happens in a crisis situation, and the Innocence will temporarily amplify itself in order to dispel the threat."

Lavi seemed to understand that, but Peter looked confused. "What does that mean, Dad?"

"Means that the Innocence probably judged that the situation needed those Akuma to be destroyed quickly. Basically, without further training, Mandy likely won't be able to invoke like that again. And she's going to need a fair amount of training, because her weapon is indeed her voice, and she has no control over that."

"So is it like Maria's voice?" Lavi inquired. He got blank looks from the others, but Allen responded as though the question were perfectly normal.

"Not exactly, no. Maria's abilities were mostly manipulation of senses -- casting illusions and reverse-illusions, and controlling the body through sound -- and were more of a support ability than an attack ability. Mandy's voice ability appears to be, at least for now, purely a weapon. I've told you that the souls of the deceased are chained to the Akuma bodies, right? Well, when Mandy screamed, I saw those chains break. That's why she took out so many at once -- because she had no control over her voice, so the scream went everywhere. I guess it would be like you throwing a hundred Fire Seals at once without aiming at all. Also, that's why the Akuma just stopped moving -- the souls were released from the bodies.

"The problem with her voice is that because she has no control over it, it becomes dangerous around non-conformers. None of us felt anything adverse when she screamed, but we are conformers, and so our own Innocence shielded us. But civilians would probably be harmed in some way. Plus, in using so much energy to destroy those Akuma, Mandy basically forced too high of an invocation, and so her synchro rate will suffer until she gets control of her weapon."

"And how does she do that?"

"Hevlaska suggested singing lessons."

Lavi blinked, at a temporary loss for words. " _Singing_ lessons?"

"Yeah."

"Well, don't look at me, Allen, I'm tone-deaf! And last I checked, you don't sing much better, even if you _can_ play that damned piano."

"Relax, Lavi, Hevlaska already has a suggestion for a teacher: Noise Marie."

"Marie? Why Marie?"

"Because he loves music and he's got an ear for it. If anyone can give her a crash course in controlling her voice, and controlling soundwaves with Innocence, it's him. Marie's already agreed to it, so Mandy will start her lessons first thing in the morning. The sooner she can get it under control, the sooner she can join Peter with me on missions. Until she gets her Innocence under control, though, she's not to leave the Order under any circumstances." His expression became impassive.

"So, what exactly am I supposed to be angry at?"

"Peter and I have to finish our mission. Tomorrow morning we'll board the Ark and return to Versailles, and resume our trip." He looked firmly at Lavi. "You, on the other hand, will not be going with us. As your superior officer, I am ordering you to remain here."

Lavi stared at him in incomprehension. "Why?"

Allen looked like he was bracing himself for an explosion. "Because the Earl is targeting the kids, I'm certain of that, and I want you to stay by Mandy's side. Yes, I know the Order's the safest place for her, but it's still not safe enough to my mind. We've been invaded before. As much as I love and trust everyone here in the Order, _you're_ the only one I'll feel safe leaving Mandy with."

Lavi looked like he'd been smacked across the face; "And you thought I'd be angry at you for this? Allen, give me some credit here!"

"Well, we did kind of have a bit of a row about you and Mandy staying behind this morning."

"Yeah," Lavi said bitingly, "when you were just being stupidly overprotective. This is different; the Earl's after the kids, and Mandy needs to learn to use her weapon. You're not ordering me to stay here out of abstract fear; you're doing it as a General."

"No," Allen said wearily, "I wasn't really thinking in that manner." The cafeteria help arrived then with the plates of food ordered. The family fell silent (the Krory family remained silent throughout the ordeal anyway) for a while. Mandy tucked into her meal with astonishing gusto.

After watching for quite a few minutes, Krory cleared his throat; "Allen, are you _sure_ she is not your natural daughter? Because I swear she takes after you far too much to just be habit."

"The same could be said about Lavi with Peter, you know," Allen retorted. "But yes, I'm quite certain she's not mine biologically. I'd remember if I slept with a woman, wouldn't I?"

There was a wet coughing sound as Lavi choked on his food and then pounded his chest to dislodge what he'd coughed up in surprise. Peter and Mandy both stared at Allen with completely flabbergasted expressions. Miranda surreptitiously covered her daughter's ears and blushed. Allen maintained a sweet, innocent smile, and resumed eating.

"Goddamn, _warn me_ next time, Allen! Ouch!" Lavi griped.

"Oh, like you never make crude jokes, Mr. I-Know-More-About-Women."

"Pfft!" Lavi grinned; "You guys expect that kind of stuff out of me! It's weird coming out of _your_ mouth, Mr. I'm-An-English-Gentleman." He stuck out his tongue.

They lapsed into companionable silence as the meal resumed. After a while, Angie Krory started getting fussy, so her parents excused themselves from the table to attend to her.

"By the way, Allen, did you open the Ark back up to let Yuu and Sven through?"

Allen blinked at his lover, and made a face; "Nah, they flew here on their own little wings. How do you _think_ they got here so quickly?"

Lavi blew a raspberry at him. "Smartass."

Peter set his silverware down and looked pleadingly at his parents to be excused from the table.

"What's the matter, Peter?"

"I'm really, really tired."

Mandy nodded in agreement; "I think I would like to go to bed soon."

Lavi put an arm around her shoulders; "I'm not surprised, sweetheart. You've had a hell of a day, haven't you? We all have."

Allen hurriedly finished eating so that they could all leave together. Jeryy, the chef, had been watching them and when they got up, he came over personally to see to their dishes, insisting that the family not worry about anything. Jeryy had always liked Allen and Lavi both, and he adored the kids. And now that Mandy was a parasitic conformer, he was in seventh heaven, because he loved to feed parasitic conformers. (Lavi wondered what on earth was wrong with the man, that he loved having people around the created more work for him. Allen just thought it was cute that Jeryy enjoyed his job so much.)

As they gathered on the elevator and selected the top floor, which was where their apartment was, Allen noticed that Lavi seemed troubled, and resolved to ask him about it once they'd gotten the kids put to bed. For the meantime, though, he slipped his hand around that of his lover, lacing their fingers nonchalantly. Lavi's eye shifted over to look at him almost questioningly, but he didn't say anything. His only response was to tighten his fingers almost imperceptibly against Allen's. It wasn't much, but it was enough.

Mandy, for her part, sidled up to her younger father and leaned against him. "Daddy, I wish you and Peter did not have to leave."

"Don't worry, sweetie, your Papa will be here with you while we're gone, and we won't leave without saying goodbye anyway. And it's not even a dangerous mission. But since there's a possible conformer for that Innocence, a General needs to go, and Peter needs some experience. It'll be fine, baby, we won't be gone more than a couple of days."

"I know," she sighed.

Lavi patted her head; "You'll be too busy to worry too much about them, doll. I'll see to that." He dropped a tender kiss into her sable hair. Allen also patted her head with his other hand.

The children both remained silent the entire ride up to the top floor. As they stepped off the elevator, one of the suite doors opened and Kanda stepped out. From the shadows of a potted plant stepped Sven, who exchanged a silent conversation with the tacit Japanese swordsman, before both set off for the stairwell.

"Interesting. Wonder what's going on?"

"I don't think you should be worrying about Kanda or Sven, Lavi."

"True."

As Allen pushed open the door to their suite, Timcanpy catapulted off of Allen's shoulder and went buzzing around the main room in delight to be home. Lavi shrugged out of his torn jacket and hung it on the coat rack as Allen pulled off his own uniform greatcoat and likewise hung it up.

Peter and Mandy were both so tired that they both just stood there; it took some coaxing from Allen to remind Peter to take off his uniform coat.

"I think we'd better get these kids to bed, Allen," Lavi said, patting Mandy's shoulders. "They both look like they're ready to fall over and sleep right here on the floor."

"Yeah," Allen said, a touch concerned as well. "Come on, kids, I won't make you clean up tonight." He and Lavi herded the two children into their bedroom and helped them to change out of their clothes and into pajamas. Mandy in particular looked like she was already half asleep. Lavi finally scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the bed, placing her gently under the covers and pulling them up around her. He kissed her forehead as he tucked her in. As Peter climbed into the large double bed, Mandy shifted over to the center of the bed, and she and Peter curled up together like a pair of puppies in a basket. Lavi leaned over the bed and plopped a kiss into Peter's reddish-brown hair.

"Come on, Lavi," Allen said gently, tugging on Lavi's arm. "Let's let them sleep. They've had a really long, exhausting day for children their age."

Lavi nodded mutely and let Allen pull him out of the room.

The General shut the door firmly and turned to his lover; "Are you okay, Lavi? You look troubled."

"The Earl is after our kids. That has me completely freaked out. _The Earl_ , the Millennium Earl himself, is taking aim at our kids. _Our kids_. How could I not be shaken?" Lavi shook his head vigorously and did an exaggerated shudder. "Why do you suppose he's after them?"

"Well, I can't confirm without a doubt, you know, but the fact that those Noah commented about killing them, makes me think the Earl is taking action against you and the kids to get to me. I mean, think about it, Lavi. I have the powers of the Musician and can move his old Ark. He has tried a number of times to kill me and has failed. What's the quickest way to bring me to my knees if he can't get me directly?"

Lavi groaned; "Damn, I never thought I'd be a liability to you."

Allen put his arms around Lavi and held him close; "You're not. And they're not. You may be a weakness, because I'd do anything for you, but you're not a handicap. So don't feel like a burden. My life would be dull and empty without you, you know. Everyone has some form of weakness, and it's only natural to care about those around you. You know that probably better than me anyway."

"I love you, Allen," Lavi murmured, embracing him and sighing.

"Let's go to bed."

"Good idea."

"...to sleep, Lavi. I'm too tired, you know."

"What? Oh, crap, _Allen_!" The redhead bopped him on the head in peevishness. "Farthest thing from my mind, you know!"

Allen chuckled and pulled Lavi in for a kiss.

"Oh, I don't think I told you that Mandy's Innocence has a name, did I?"

"It does?"

"Yeah. It's named Banshee."

"Banshee? As in, the Irish legend of a deceased woman whose wails signal a person's impending death?"

"Uh..." Allen blinked. "Well, I thought Mandy's scream was kind of like they say a banshee scream is. But yeah, I suppose that would work for Akuma as well, since her scream is what breaks the chains."

"Hmm. Interesting. Well, whatever. I find it funny that Peter's doesn't have a name yet."

"Neither does Krory's, and he's had his for at least fifteen years."

"True. And then there's mine, which has the most retarded name, so I renamed it. I could've smacked Gramps for giving it such a stupid name!"

"What, Oudzuchi Kodzuchi?"

"Naah, that's the name I gave it. Now in retrospect it's kind of a dumb name, but it still beats out Metal Hammer! I mean, geez. Metal Hammer? Gramps was a brilliant man, but not very imaginative!"

Allen snickered and snapped on the light in the bedroom even as Lavi shut off the lights in the rest of the apartment. "Well, come to that, you've got to admit that mine has a weird name."

"Aww, I think Crown Clown is a cute name."

"You would, Lavi. You just would."

Lavi wasted no time in stripping out of his clothes. Allen gave him a gentle, loving swat when he walked behind the redhead. Lavi turned around in a heartbeat and grabbed him around the shoulders, getting him into a headlock and bopping him on the head affectionately.

Finally, Allen and Lavi both climbed into the bed and cuddled up together. Lavi tiredly pillowed his head on Allen's chest, murmuring to himself as he drifted off. Allen toyed with his hair for a while, before turning off the lights and dozing off himself. It was still twilight outside, much earlier than any of them were used to going to sleep, but given the world-upending day they'd all had, the sooner it was over, the better.

* * *

_Who goes?_

The waters of the healing river sloshed sleepily along the bank as the Water Noah slowly opened her eyes at a disturbance.

The water chamber was light as usual, warm and moist, evocative of a clearing in a Sumatran rainforest. Evocative of home.

A bright young face appeared over Sarita's field of vision.

"How are you doing, Sarita?" Road Kamelot chimed.

_Lousy, if you want to know._

"Hmm. Well I came to see if you wanted to play with me, maybe go play with some Exorcists or something, but if you're not in the mood..."

_I cannot leave yet. My healing transformation is incomplete. I still have three and a half days to go._

"Pity, that. Too bad you won't allow anyone to help. I'm sure if you really wanted to get those Exorcists, you could do it. But, well, you're the youngest, so I suppose I'm not surprised."

_What is that supposed to mean?_

"Nevermind," Road sang happily. "It's just that I hate to see you get punished too much by Lord Millennium, but if you keep failing him like that, you're going to be in worse shape than any of us."

_Like any of you has managed to kill that white-haired brat._

"Well, Allen's another story. I can't help myself around him, he's so fun to play with. But we've all killed Exorcists, except you. You still haven't made your first kill, even though Tyki and Lulu and I helped you by restraining a couple General-levels. Baby exorcists should be easy prey, as long as you don't give their Innocence time to react. Remember that. See ya!"

Road disappeared just like that from Sarita's view.

_Damn you, Allen Walker. Now even Road is scoffing at me and harassing me._

_You will pay for this. I swear this upon my name, I will make you and your family_ pay dearly _for this._


	4. Accelerate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarita takes aim at the children again, and she is determined to not fail the Earl again. Meanwhile, Allen and Lavi face a grim reality regarding Allen's parasitic Innocence...

Lavi blinked sleepily as the morning sun streamed through the window. A familiar tiny lump was cuddled up next to him, and he rubbed his hand over it, giving the small body beneath the covers a gentle shake. "It's morning, honey. Time to get up."

"Want to sleep, Papa," Mandy murmured drowsily, burrowing down.

"You want to master Banshee, don't you?"

That woke her up quickly. She bounced out of the bed and ran to her room to get dressed.

"Shower first!" Lavi hollered after her, before tossing his covers aside and standing up. While Allen and Peter were away, Mandy had taken to sleeping with Lavi, because she suffered from horrible nightmares when she slept alone -- the kind of nightmares that would cause her to wake up screaming in terror, and would take her forever to calm down from; Lavi decided that letting her snuggle with him, so that he could comfort her if she started to get scared, was preferable a thousand times over to letting her fight those nightmares on her own.

Pausing in front of the mirror, Lavi scowled at his reflection; it looked like he was going to have to shave soon. He hated shaving, really. He didn't mind it when Allen did it for him; but it was going on ten days now since Allen and Peter had left. Ten days' growth was annoying now, and Lavi was going to have to do something about it.

He grumbled as he scrubbed at his chin and pulled open the bedroom door.

Mandy presented herself before him, freshly washed and dressed. He blinked stupidly at her; "That... was quick."

He cursed himself for feeling so sluggish lately, but he couldn't get out of his head a sinking, sick feeling. He was starting to have dreams at night, where he was left alone to raise the kids, where Allen's Innocence finally claimed his own life, used up his life energy, burnt him to the core and destroyed him.

In the past fifteen years that they had been lovers, Lavi had watched silently as Allen essentially aged more rapidly than he himself had; not in the literal sense, but in a metaphoric way. The drain of his parasitic-type Innocence meant that his young body was breaking down much faster than the human body normally did. The younger Exorcist had a face lined with the kind of marks that one expected from someone twice his age, and he moved more slowly as a general rule (though in battle, Allen could feasibly out maneuver Lavi due to his smaller, lighter frame). He also had trouble keeping weight on, despite his voracious appetite. Lavi was afraid that the time to say goodbye to Allen was all too quickly approaching.

Allen tried his best to maintain his youth, but it was becoming steadily more apparent that he was aging quickly, and was running low on time. Lavi only prayed that when the end finally came to Allen, he'd be there beside him, that he'd be the last thing Allen saw before crossing over into wherever souls went when their bodies failed them. It was perhaps a selfish desire, but he wanted to be the last thing Allen knew before "shuffling off this mortal coil." The two of them had been so deeply enmeshed with each other's life, that he... ugh, this was hard to think about. Too hard.

Lavi had been trying to brace himself for years for this eventuality, but this was the first time he'd been plagued by recurring dreams of that horrible future. Consequently, it was the first time he was really faced with the unpleasant prospect of what had been a distant inevitability was quickly becoming a possible near-future reality. It reminded him of the dreams he'd had shortly before the old Bookman, who had been like a father to him, had passed away in his sleep.

"Papa?" Mandy inquired. "What is wrong, Papa? You look sad."

"Sorry, honey. Depressing thoughts. I get maudlin when your Daddy's not around to keep me in line. Come on, sweetie, let's get going."

"You are not dressed though, Papa," she said as she tilted her head at him.

 _Oh shit._ He thumped his forehead. "Sorry, sweetie. I'm a little distracted. Go use the golem to call down to the cafeteria and place an order, so that it'll be ready when we get there. I'll be ready in a few minutes."

He shook himself vigorously as she left. He needed to stop thinking about those dreams; they'd do nothing but scare him more. He pulled on some clothes, choosing to forego a shower since he'd taken one the night before. As he shrugged into his uniform jacket, he stepped out of the bedroom and into the main room of the apartment. Mandy was by the door, waiting for him. Putting the depressing thoughts as far from his mind as he could, he took her hand and the two of them left the apartment to go get her something to eat before she went to start her daily training sessions with Noise Marie.

* * *

"You're doing well, Mandy, but you're still not there yet," Noise Marie said gently. "Here, try this technique..."

Lavi scratched idly at an itch on the bridge of his nose. Mandy's lessons with Marie were interesting, but only up to a point. After a while, it all started to blend together. Lavi knew he didn't have the ear for music that the big Austrian Exorcist did, so what sounded okay to him wasn't okay with Marie. It made sense, having him coach Mandy, even if it seemed a little weird that she was getting training from someone other than her official General. Either way, Lavi was on hand because Allen had asked him to stick close to Mandy, in case the Noah got a crazy idea about barging in yet again. The lessons got a bit boring now that she was past the beginner stages and was starting to get control over the finer points with her voice. Lavi was doing his best to not let his boredom show, but it wasn't easy.

And anyway, Sven and Kanda had just gotten warmed up and were starting to spar. This was one match-up that always proved to be worth watching. For all that Kanda was arguably one of the best fighters in the world, one of the best swordsmen and wielders of equipment-type Innocence in the history of the Black Order, Sven was able to keep up with his master. The tall, austere Dane was lithe and agile, and moved like a leopard. He wasn't as blindingly fast as Kanda, but he was able to dodge strikes that few people could. What he couldn't dodge, his Innocence blocked. Yggdrasil was considered to be partly sentient, with a distinctive will of its own (this wasn't exactly unprecedented, though it _was_ quite rare); Sven viewed his Innocence as his partner, not his weapon.

Additionally, Yggdrasil was one of the few weapons that could stand up to Mugen, no matter how much force Kanda put into it; consequently, Sven was a perfect sparring partner for Kanda, because Kanda didn't have to hold back when he sparred with Sven. This was probably the reason the Japanese swordsman tolerated being in the Dane's presence so much... that, and Sven was very quiet, worldly and unobtrusive. The two were like two sides of the same coin, though Sven was more polite, less aggressive, and more adept at puzzling out situations than his master.

The Dane's fighting style was like a hybrid of Kanda's and Lavi's, with an added measure of dance to his movements. His preferred form for Yggdrasil as a weapon was as a simple staff, which he used to block sword strikes. However, he could change Yggdrasil's shape on the fly, forming it into virtually any kind of inanimate object, though he generally kept his arsenal to long-handled weapons. He did occasionally shape the staff into a trident, but typically he just kept it as a blunt staff, forging it into a spear only when he needed a sharp point for stabbing.

Kanda, for his part, was no slouch with his sword Mugen. He also insisted that the only reason Sven could keep up with him was because he'd _trained_ the Dane that way. He'd taken an illiterate young kid from a small fishing village in northern Denmark, and had molded him into a brilliant fighting machine. Sven was also considerably taller than Kanda (even though Kanda was unusually tall for his nationality), which gave him a small advantage over Kanda, because he could outmuscle the Japanese swordsman. On the other hand, he wasn't quite as fast, and he presented a bigger target (though he was nowhere near as tall as Noise Marie). That was where his semi-sentient Innocence came in. It could shield him of its own will, independent of his commands.

It really was a rare treat to see the two of them sparring like this. Both were using their Innocence weapons, but the weapons weren't activated. They were merely going through the motions of a normal fight. Lavi hadn't gone as long as he had as Bookman Junior without developing an appreciation for people who could really fight, who could turn fighting (or sparring) into a form of dance. He didn't like war any better than anyone else -- and in fact hated it more than most, because he'd seen the ugliest sides of it -- but there were aspects of it that weren't quite so horrific. Watching two highly skilled fighters sparring was remarkably engrossing. It was also helping him keep his mind off the troubling thoughts that still hung in his mind.

He became so enrapt by the sparring match that he lost all track of Mandy's training session; thus, he jumped in startlement when Marie prodded him.

"Vigilant, aren't you?" The big Austrian said with a smile. "You were spacing out."

"Ugh, sorry."

"It's all right, Kanda's pretty amazing to watch."

"Actually, I was watching Sven; the kid's good. Are you two done?" He looked over at where Mandy was standing.

"I think so. Her voice was starting to get strained. Now's a good time to stop for the day. She's getting better, but she's still got quite a ways to go. But she's made incredible progress for how recently we started. Her progress over the past week is comparable to at least a year's tutoring results." Marie had a weird glint in his icy-blue, nearly-sightless eyes. "It might not be a bad idea to take her to Hevlaska and see if her synchronization rate is improving."

"Good idea," Lavi said with a nod, beckoning Mandy over. She looked a bit flustered as they got up to leave the training grounds.

"Am I really doing all right, Papa?" She inquired hesitantly. "It does not feel like I am doing very well at all."

"You're doing fine, sweetie," Lavi said with a grin. "Marie's quite passionate about music, so he's going to be a strict teacher, but he gave you very high praise." They made their way toward the Head Supervisor's office, to gain permission to go visit Hevlaska. "Don't worry, sweetheart, you're doing very well. You do know that your Daddy was in training for three years, right?"

She nodded, but didn't say any more. He'd half-expected her to ask how long he was in training with his Innocence, but she didn't ask. As they arrived at the floor where Komui Lee's office was, they heard the elevator that carried down into Hevlaska's chamber docking into place at this level.

"Sis! Papa!"

Lavi froze in bewilderment, but Mandy adjusted instantly, spinning around with a grin to light up the floor. Sure enough, exiting the elevator were Peter and Allen. Both looked very tired, but Peter at least looked like he was satisfactorily tired; he'd most likely accomplished what he'd wanted to do. Allen, on the other hand... Lavi's stomach lurched and his heart sank.

Allen looked like the proverbial "death warmed over" and he was slow to acknowledge that Lavi and Mandy were in front of him.

"Are you okay, Allen?" Lavi called to him. "You don't look very good."

"Yeah," Allen said, his voice gray with fatigue. "I'm just really, really tired. That mission took a lot out of me."

_Why do I think that's a bald-faced lie?_

Lavi closed the distance between them and put his hands on Allen's shoulders. "Allen, if you're that tired, you should go straight to bed and rest."

"I plan to. We just got back from debriefing with the Grand Generals, and returning the Innocence to Hevlaska. I was going to send Peter to find you while I went to go get some rest. I do need to talk to you about something, though, Lavi. But it can wait." The white-haired General gave his long-time lover an affectionate kiss on the lips, for once eschewing the protocol they normally observed of keeping any romantic interactions strictly private. But then again, the only other people besides them visible on the level were their kids, who certainly didn't mind seeing their parents kissing.

Lavi grabbed Allen's forearms and held him close; "You feel like you could collapse at any time. Should I carry you?"

"That's not necessary," Allen said with a weak laugh. "I can get home on my own power. But thank you for being so concerned."

"I _love_ you, Allen. Why wouldn't I be concerned?"

That apparently wasn't what Allen had in mind, as he let go of Lavi and started walking slowly toward the internal elevator, the one that would take him to the top floor, where their apartment was. Lavi beckoned both kids to come with him and followed Allen onto the elevator. Once there, and once the elevator had started to rise, Lavi put an arm around Allen; "Allen, I'm worried about you. You look horrible. This isn't just fatigue."

"I'm just really tired, Lavi, and I've missed being with you. It's harder, when your student is your own child, you know." Allen leaned against him. "I worried a lot more with Peter than I ever did before with my students..."

"Even though I was fine the whole time, not even remotely in any danger," Peter added. "We never encountered any more Noah or even Akuma. We just had to chase down the Innocence. Turns out it didn't even have a conformer. Or if it did, the conformer didn't want to be found."

As they arrived at their level, Peter grabbed Mandy's hand and dragged her along; "I have _so_ much to tell you, Sis! C'mon!"

Allen chuckled tiredly and rested his head against Lavi's shoulder; "They're adorable, aren't they?"

"Allen, you have to tell me what's going on."

"Wait until we get inside, okay? I promise, I'll tell you everything once we're inside. I'd like to sit down on the bed anyway. I don't know that I'll have a whole lot of strength to go through what I need to tell you and stay standing. I'm really exhausted."

Lavi frowned in annoyance, and scooped Allen up into his arms, despite Allen's protests. He carried him to their front door, shoving the unlatched door open and marching into the apartment. He didn't stop there, choosing to carry his lover into the bedroom, and dumping him somewhat unceremoniously on the bed. "Okay. We're here. Now talk. You've got me _scared_ , Allen Walker. I don't take kindly to being made to be this scared."

Allen sighed; "Well, that wasn't exactly what I meant, but I guess I can't wiggle out of it, can I?"

"Nope. Talk."

The General heaved a second sigh; "Lavi... I think you and the kids need to brace yourselves."

"What for?"

Slate-gray eyes raised to look at Lavi's face; "Because I don't have much time left. Hevlaska warned me that I'm on borrowed time now. I'm not going to estimate how much longer I have, but it's already a miracle that I've reached thirty. If I make it to thirty-two, it'll be a second miracle."

It was like the ground had dropped out from beneath Lavi's feet. The information, combined with his nightmares and this lingering sense of unease for the past week, made his head spin and his heart scream in protest. The world began to spin as he grew pale with shock.

"Lavi!"

Just before his knees gave out on him, Lavi became aware of Allen gripping his arms. "Don't fall apart on me, Lavi!"

Lavi's hands tightened their grip on Allen; "I'm... I'm not ready to lose you yet, Allen. Isn't there something we can do?"

"Sit down, Lavi," Allen ordered. "Now you're worrying me. Honestly, I expected you to be surprised or upset, but not this shocked. It's not like this is brand-new information. We've known for a while that I'm living on borrowed time."

"I'm sorry, Allen," the redhead said at length. "I've just... been having nightmares lately about you dying because of your Innocence, and I have been trying to convince myself that I'm worrying for nothing. And now you say that... and it reminds me of when the old panda died." Lavi reached out and wrapped his arms around his lover, pulling him close and burying his face in the fabric of Allen's coat. He trembled with emotion. "I'm not ready to lose you yet."

"You never will be 'ready' for it, Lavi," Allen said gently. "And I'm not ready to leave just yet. I don't intend to die until I've taken down the Earl, but I don't know that I've got enough time left."

"I was really hoping," Lavi said softly, "to never hear those fatalistic words again from you regarding the Earl. I was really hoping, after the kids came into our lives, that you would try and see beyond destroying the Earl."

"Believe me, Lavi, I want to live on, but I accepted the burden of Crown Clown long ago. There's a price for that much power, and my promise to Mana is what kept me going in the darkest of times. I can't back out now just because I have kids. It's too late."

"So you're just going to meekly accept this 'fate' of yours?" Lavi drove his fist into the mattress in frustration. "That's not like you at all! Dammit, Allen, what the hell happened to you?"

Allen sighed yet again, and seemed to deflate; "Lavi, I'm tired. Do you get it? I'm _tired_. I've been fighting a war for more than half my life. Now I'm running out of time, and I'm no closer to finishing the war than I was fifteen years ago. I want nothing in the world so much as I want to just... not fight anymore. I'd like nothing in the world so much as to just be a normal dad to my kids. To be for them like Mana was for me. I'm so tired of this war, Lavi. I don't know how much more I can take. Especially when those that are dearest to me are being targeted simply because they're dear to me. I really just want this war to end, however it ends. My goal is to take down the Earl, so I should focus on that..."

Lavi grimaced, looking Allen over with scrutiny. Then, standing up abruptly, he rounded on Allen and shoved him backwards onto the mattress with considerable force.

"Hey now!" Allen protested. "There's no need to get rough!"

Lavi was trembling now, though Allen couldn't tell if it was from rage, fear, frustration or pent-up tears. "Why, Allen? Why are you doing this?"

"What?"

"Why are you diving headlong into your grave? Why are you doing this, _again_? Why are you trying to distance yourself from everyone, to take the burdens of the world onto your own shoulders alone? _Why are you in a hurry to leave me behind?_ "

Allen frowned; so the trembling was a combination of the four options. "I'm not in a hurry -- "

"Bullshit!" Lavi spat. There were tears in his visible eye. "Listen to yourself! You're trying to take the Earl down with you, and you don't want us to go with you, so you're backing away from us. Just because you don't have much time left doesn't mean you have to be suicidal! That promise you said you made to Mana, about walking forward -- did you ever mean that if your life came up short, that you'd start running toward the end? That you'd make it even shorter by speeding up?"

"Calm down, Lavi," Allen said firmly, trying to sit up, but firmly restrained by Lavi, who was bigger and heavier than him, and decidedly stronger at the moment. Allen was so worn out from his mission that he had little physical strength right now. "Look, I didn't mean it that way, I just want you and the kids to prepare yourselves for the inevitable. I'm under no false pretenses that I can extend my life if I stop fighting now. Even if I could, there would not be the quality of life -- I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I stopped fighting for the sake of a few extra months or years of existence."

"I'm not ready to lose you, Allen," Lavi murmured again, and his voice broke. "I'm not ready to be abandoned again." The redhead lowered himself to lay directly on top of Allen, and his hands released Allen's forearms, moving instead to encircle his shoulders. "I don't want to think about what will happen to me when you're gone. I don't know that I can raise the kids on my own. You've been my anchor all this time, Allen. You've been what's kept me grounded."

This wasn't an earth-shattering revelation to Allen; he'd suspected -- and to some degree had known -- for a long time that Lavi's self-confidence was really only skin-deep. When presented with something that affected his emotions -- especially those that triggered his deepest-rooted fears of abandonment -- he was often a bundle of nerves that could fall apart at any moment. Allen, with his much more stable emotional upbringing thanks to Mana, was able to divert a lot of that nervous energy when it surfaced; he tended to do so autonomously, in fact. Completely without consciously realizing any of it was happening, Allen kept Lavi somewhat stable, and Lavi kept Allen firmly rooted in his humanity, not getting lost in his supposed destiny as "Destroyer of Time." It was this trade-off that had kept them so close over the years. Each gave the other something needed, without even realizing it. It was only now, in the twilight of his young life, that Allen was able to see these things that up until now he and Lavi had both taken for granted.

Lavi seemed to calm down as the silence lengthened. At the least, the trembling subsided. The redhead rested his forehead against Allen's, his eyes closed. His breathing was still slightly labored from his emotional spike, but he was calming down. Allen just let him alone, deciding not to push him too much. He was clearly under a lot of stress.

"Lavi," he said gently, "I want you to remember that no matter what, I love you. You've made my life so much richer. I'm a better person for having met you."

"I want to be with you at the end, Allen," Lavi said softly. "When your eyes close for the last time, I want to be at your side. I want to be the last thing you see and hear and feel. So don't you dare go killing yourself in battle. I don't care if you don't defeat the Earl -- we'll defeat him sooner or later, it's only a matter of time, and you've done enough. Just ease up, and don't you dare leave my side."

"I can't promise any of that, Lavi."

The room fell uncomfortably quiet.

"Our relationship has always been one of equals, Lavi," Allen added as the unpleasant silence lengthened. "If I were to change now, to cave to your demands, wouldn't that make me someone other than who I really am? And wouldn't that make me less than the person you fell in love with? You can't tell me you'd be happy with that in the long run."

Lavi sighed heavily; "No, I suppose not, but I don't want you leaving me behind, either. I'm so scared of that right now, I can't even think about anything else."

"Then don't," Allen said gently, doing his best to comfort the man who had become so dear to him that he'd gladly give his own life to ease his pain. He rested his hands at the small of Lavi's back, closing his eyes and maintaining his calm demeanor. Whenever Lavi went over the edge in terms of his emotions, Allen could reel him back by maintaining sangfroid and keeping his cool.

"I need you, Allen," Lavi said softly. "Every time I think about losing you, I realize just how much I need you. And it makes me mad, to be so dependent on you. I mean, come on, how old am I? And I'm still emotionally crippled without you. I don't even know if... I don't know if I'll be myself when you're gone."

"If you're afraid of 'Bookman Junior' coming out again, I honestly don't see any way it's possible. When I remade you on the Ark, I bound your persona to your blood, your heart, your entire body."

"That's not quite what I meant..." Lavi pushed himself off the bed and stood up. His face was pale and drawn, showing the weathering effects of worry on his features. It made Allen's heart ache. Allen himself was resigned to this fate of his, but clearly Lavi was not. And Allen was now running out of ideas of how to distract Lavi from agonizing about something inevitable.

"Anyway," Allen said, venturing a guess, "if you want to have sex, I need to get some sleep first, but a couple hours should be enough. We've been apart for almost two weeks, after all. And," he added, a bit self-consciously, "I'd like it if you stayed with me while I sleep. I sleep best with you beside me."

Lavi let out a pessimistic grunt at the suggestion of sex, but nodded when Allen asked him to stay with him for the next few hours.

* * *

"Are you sure about that, Peter?" Mandy gripped the fabric of the bedspread with both hands; this was the worst news she could imagine. She'd had no idea that the "so much to tell you" that Peter had spoken of had included something so world-breaking. "You are absolutely certain you did not mishear that?"

"Hevlaska said it right in front of me, Sis, and I think she did it specifically so that I would know, so that Dad can't hide it. She told Dad that he should prepare his family, because he's running out of time, that his parasitic Innocence is starting to eat away at his lifeline."

Tears lined her eyes, and she willed them away. "Papa... Papa will be a complete wreck when he finds out."

"Dad said he'd tell Papa right away. I told him he'd better, because I didn't want to tell him. I told Dad that I'd tell you. I figured it'd be better for you to hear it from me. You don't have to be strong in front of me, Sis," he added softly, putting his arms around her. "I'm scared too. I don't want to lose him either."

"I am the older one, Peter. I should be strong."

"And I'm the boy, so I should be the strong one. But this isn't something that we can just be strong through, you know. Dad said he was about our age when he lost his dad, only he didn't have anyone else, at least not until General Cross found him. At least _we_ have each other, and we still have Papa, even after Dad's gone."

"I know, I know..." She closed her eyes. She had so been looking forward to being a student under her Daddy's tutelage, and she silently cursed her inability to master her Innocence, even though Marie had told her she was making extraordinary progress for what she was trying to master.

"It's okay, Sis," Peter said, sniffling as his frustration, grief and distress got the best of his emotions. "We've still got a little bit of time, you know."

 _I hate playing grown-up sometimes,_ she thought as she succumbed to her whirling emotions as well. _Grown-ups have it so bad sometimes. If growing up means losing your parents, I do not ever want to grow up. I would rather stay a child always, if it meant that Daddy would still be alive_.

* * *

Sarita surfaced from her water-chamber river. She'd spent an extra couple of days in the water to repair some damage she'd taken from that fight almost two weeks ago, against Walker and his family. She'd had the rotten luck of encountering that same black-haired General when she'd tried to attack again; she'd misjudged where the Black Ark let out, and she had come face to face with a cranky Japanese swordsman who loved to cut up Noah. She'd ended up losing six clones, which meant that she'd had to spend a week in the water chamber repairing. Repairing and plotting, really. This time, she wasn't going to fail.

This time, she knew what her mistake had been. This time, there would be no mistake.

This time, she would hit that damned white-haired General so hard and so fast that he wouldn't even know what had struck him. She'd strike like Shiva in His full-on Rudra mode... yes, she would prove to that moron Cyril that she could kill an Exorcist. Not just any Exorcist, either; an Exorcist that Tyki had failed to kill more than five times!

 _I will not return here until I have killed at least one Exorcist_ , she told herself. She was about to pull open the door to the water-chamber, when the Akuma-maid she was attended by intercepted her and offered her a sari. She realized belatedly that she probably shouldn't go out stark naked. Not that she was ashamed of her body, she saw nothing wrong with it, nor with walking around as nature had formed her... but if she ran into Cyril, he would taunt her. If she ran into Tyki, he would laugh at her. And if she tried to move through the human world like this, she would never get through it without being noticed.

She slipped the clothing on and tied her messy long black hair back with a velvet ribbon that the Earl had given her when she'd first transformed into her Noah form. He'd said that he wanted her to be presentable whenever she went anywhere. It was the same reason why he made Tyki dress in decent clothing and why he made sure that Road went to schools and had the pretenses of a family. It was also why even he had a human form. The Earl expected his family to be worthy of him.

As she stepped out of the chamber, the Black Ark's alleys were deserted. That was just as well. She didn't care too much for any of the other Noah anyway, though she didn't mind Road.

She moved silently, fluidly down a street toward the giant tower at the center, where the Earl usually was. She moved as quickly as she could.

As she scaled the stairs to the top of the tower, she went over her plans in her mind. She would surround General Walker, and she would strike simultaneously. She would separate him from his family, and strike him from all angles. And she'd send clones to take out those runts. If the redhead showed up, she'd deal with him. She'd dealt with him before. One sharp blow to the throat would buckle him.

Killing the brats shouldn't be hard, she reasoned. They were both young, had never killed before. And the last time, the only thing that had saved them was that one brat unexpectedly activating an Innocence weapon that Sarita hadn't known she had.

As she pushed open the doors to the giant chamber where the piano was now located, she saw the Earl sitting at a long table.

"Lord Millennium," she said with a respecting bow. "I am about to head out, and I will bring back the head of an Exorcist for you."

"Be sure not to fail me this time, Little Sarita," the Earl said in a deceptively benign voice. "I should be very upset with you if you do."

"I will not return until I have killed an Exorcist for you, Lord Millennium."

"Very well then. Where are you going? Where shall I set up the door?"

"I would like to exit the Ark in India. I believe I can lure the Exorcists I wish to kill, by using a Buddhist shrine there."

"I see. Well, do your work quickly. I will lock your water-chamber until you return to me with your promised proof of an Exorcist's demise."

She shuddered imperceptibly. This was do-or-die now. He had all but told her that she was as good as dead if she failed him again.

"Take door number six-twelve to Delhi."

"Thank you, Lord Millennium. I will succeed this time, and I will make you proud."

* * *

"India?" Lavi raised an eyebrow. "That's a new one. I can understand if it was China, since the Asian Branch is over there. It wouldn't seem quite so weird to have rumors of Innocence with a conformer show up there, but an Indian Buddhist temple?"

"Regardless," Allen said wearily, "we have to go. Kanda flat refused, and he and I are the only Generals on stand-by at this time. Besides, there's been no reports of Akuma activity, so it'll probably be safe to take the kids along. It'll be a good experience for Mandy."

"I don't know about this, Allen... you're still under the weather from your last mission. Why don't I go alone? I can do it a lot faster, and I can bring whoever the conformer is back to you."

"The Grand Generals assigned this to me, Lavi. I can't refuse."

"Geez, whose side are they on, anyway?"

"Fortunately," Allen said, ignoring him, "the relay point is in Delhi, which I've been to before, so I can create an Ark gate there. So we can get there quickly."

"I dunno about that, Allen," Lavi said. "I have a bad feeling about that. We shouldn't rely on your Ark so much when we aren't sure if there's a Noah behind all this crap or not. There's a Noah out there that's actively seeking you out. Yuu said as much the other day. Said that that watery one we've clashed with a couple times before has practically put a price on your head. I can use the Bookman network and get there, then back, without her ever finding me."

"I can't refuse this, Lavi. I told you that already."

"Then leave the kids here, and you and I will go by ourselves. This just doesn't sound right to me."

"No can do." Allen shook his head, "they told me to take my apprentices with me. Mandy's done with Marie's training, so I need to start training her myself. Look, I don't like this any more than you do, but I can't refuse. Honestly. My hands are tied."

Lavi sighed. "Fine. Tomorrow then, right?"

"Yeah. We'll want to leave first thing in the morning, which will make it late afternoon or early evening there. That's when the monks at the temple I'm going to use for the relay point are expecting us."

"I have a very bad feeling about this, you know."

"Yeah, I know."


	5. Strength

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarita strikes hard and fast, and her attack forces Allen to push his Innocence to its limit... which then triggers in him a realization about himself and his Innocence.

What a complete and utter mess.

Sarita, the water-sensitive Noah of Empathy, was completely and absolutely in control right now, and she was loving it. She had chosen her battleground with care, and had lured her prey into a death-trap. Now it was only a matter of time before at least one of them died and she could return to the Earl with her head held high.

She was lucky that this time five Exorcists were in front of her instead of eight or nine, even if one of those Exorcists had the ability to remove the Akuma poison. Even better, that accursed woman with the time-bending skills wasn't here, so Sarita could move freely.

For their part, Allen and Lavi were doing the best they could to keep Sarita away from the kids. This time they had Krory with them so that if Lavi or Peter got hit by Akuma beams, they were better prepared to deal with it. But this Noah was no slouch. Despite having shown weakness to them before with her reticence and her lack of planning, she was definitely not someone to take lightly. She appeared to have no doubts about what she was doing now, and she was fighting with purpose.

Her abilities were also troublesome. She was able to create physical clones of herself, as well as illusions of herself. The difference seemed to be that the illusions were made of mist, refractions of light off the fine mist in the air, whereas the clones were of something more solid -- when they struck, it hurt. And yet, when Allen slashed at them with his claw, the clones dissipated into a shower of water before he could actually rake his claw through them.

There was another foe there that had Allen concerned as well, though it was currently passive and apparently uninterested in fighting just yet. But it was a form of combination Akuma, except that this one wasn't even remotely human in shape; it was shaped like a giant serpentine dragon, easily five times the size of a sea-going ship in length. When Allen activated his eye, he could see countless souls whirling around a nucleus of seven souls that were somehow interlocked with each other. It was hanging in the sky like a giant metallic cloud, a silent menace.

Lavi slammed his hammer against the Water Seal, obliterating a handful of clones of the Noah.

"Why are you using the Water Seal, you idiot?" Krory grumbled peevishly. "She's using water; aren't you just adding to her ammunition?"

"Pfft," Lavi scoffed, calling up the circle of Seals again as more clones closed in, "you know how they say fight fire with fire? Well, fight water with water too. Trust me, the Fire Seal won't work here. Water trumps fire."

"You have more than the Water and Fire Seals, Lavi," Allen said, pausing a moment to gage his surroundings.

They were definitely surrounded, and it appeared that that giant combination Akuma was doing something even while it was hanging motionless in the air. It was hard to discern, but there seemed to be some sort of barrier forming around the perimeter of their small battlefield. Probably to cage them in and prevent them from escaping to regroup and heal... and to prevent any reinforcements from showing up. Allen had a feeling that if he tried to open the Ark, there would be a problem. It had happened before against this Noah, after all. So he wasn't going to try unless he had no other choice.

Lavi seemed oblivious to the fact that they were in the middle of a fight for their very lives, because he was justifying his choice of the Water Seal; "Yeah, but the Earth Seal is defensive, the Wood Seal works on _natural_ forces, and the Wind Seal is too unpredictable. And I don't trust the Ice Seal to do any more damage than the Water Seal."

"Shut up and fight," Krory snapped, swinging his long black cloak to cover Peter from a barrage of Akuma cannon-fire. The baron looked completely exhausted; the veins on his neck were standing out with the strain of an extended invocation. He had a very high synchronization with his Innocence, but they had been fighting for at least an hour now with no respite whatsoever, and he was running out of energy.

In response, Lavi detonated a massive Combination Seal that he had been powering up, combining the Wind and Fire seals to do so; the resulting spiral of wind-shaped flames coiled around the Exorcists, scorching out a large number of Akuma as it raced skyward to break against the belly of the giant dragon-like Akuma.

Unexpectedly, the flames were blown back down before they could reach the giant Akuma. Allen activated his white Innocence cloak and swaddled himself, Mandy and Peter before the flames could hit them, and Lavi and Krory both managed to dodge the ricocheted attack. The wind-driven Innocence fire ignited on the grass and groundcover at their feet, and in seconds the three of them were in the eye of a fiery hurricane.

"Nice going, idiot!" Krory yelled angrily over the roar of the inferno.

"How the hell did that happen?" Lavi was dumbfounded. "That should have at the very least damaged him! There's no dark matter shield strong enough to fully deflect the heat of that! How the hell?!"

A clone of Sarita appeared beside the redhead and she took a swipe at him, cutting into his forearm with one of the daggers in her hands. Lavi yelped and stumbled backwards awkwardly as blood fountained out from the wound. He was so startled by her sudden appearance, and shocked by the injury, that he was at a disadvantage. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she raised her hands to slash across his exposed throat.

" _Lavi!_ " Allen lunged forward, straining against the restraints of reality and space-time. He _had_ to get there in time. He just _couldn't_ allow Lavi to be killed. He just _had_ to get there to stop the blade from reaching Lavi's jugular...

There was a flash of movement, and Sarita staggered back at the sudden intervention.

"Not my Papa, you don't!" Peter snarled, his Innocence gauntlet having blocked the knife blades from striking Lavi's throat. The boy was trembling, and he looked quite scared, but he was holding his own.

Allen then wondered how it was that Peter had outrun _him_ in getting to Lavi. It dawned on him that his body was slowing down, wasn't responding like he wanted it to. He couldn't move anywhere near as fast as he should, and his body felt significantly heavier than it should.

There was a sudden lurch in his stride and he nearly fell to his knees. His heart was hammering in his chest, and he could almost _hear_ the blood straining through his veins as his heart labored. His body was failing him.

_Dear God, no! Not now! Don't fail me now, Crown Clown! I'm not done yet! I have to protect my family! Please!_

His strength was wicking away rapidly. His chest felt heavy... it called to mind an incident forever ago... half his life ago... a moon bearing down on him, squeezing the breath from his lungs, squeezing the life out of him... _No, not yet! I'm not done yet! The Earl... I still have to defeat..._

Lavi, for his part, was freaking out. He let out a wordless, incoherent roar of both outrage and anguish when he saw Allen collapse, saw the great white cloak that draped the General dissolve into thin air and the claws on his left hand seemed to fade out of existence. No, no, no, no, _no!_ This couldn't be happening! Not now! Of all the times for his body to give in to the strain of the Innocence!

Krory was attempting to engage the giant dragon Akuma -- to either get it to fight and possibly be destroyed, or at least to get it to _move out of the way_ so that someone could open up an escape route. But when he heard Lavi's agonized scream, he turned his attention downward -- and learned firsthand how the giant dragon had deflected Lavi's Fire-and-Wind Seal without any dark matter: the giant beast was equipped with thrusters for propulsion, and it used them to create an air-screen, diverting the flow of air around it like a natural shield. Meeting this force head-on as Krory was, it made it very painful for the baron, as he was thrown forcefully into the ground, creating a sizeable scar in the earth. It also stunned him, so that he couldn't move at all. He could barely breathe, he was hurting so badly from the force of his impact with the unyielding earth.

Mandy was crouched by Allen, urgently shaking his shoulders, begging him to wake up. Lavi and Peter joined her, but did so maintaining a defensive stance, as the shimmering, translucent human forms of the water-clones began to surround them.

"You may eat now, Leviathan," several identical voices intoned collectively as the clones all spoke at once. At thewords, the dragon-Akuma began to move, its great head swinging around and down to look at them. Then it began to lower slowly. Its intentions were obvious.

"Oh hell no," Peter murmured. "I'm not going to be some dragon's breakfast!"

"Being swallowed by it might be the best way to destroy it, though, Peter," Mandy said. "Surely its internal organs are not protected as well as its skin."

"Mandy, that's an Akuma. Going inside it would make us vulnerable to its virus," Lavi said with gritted teeth. "And I don't trust your abilities to take that thing down alone. So, no, we're not going to get swallowed."

The giant dragon's head snaked around and the mouth unhinged and swung open. Lavi raised the hammer and activated the Seals, prepared to combine three or more if necessary. He was even willing to risk combining all the Seals if he had to, if it would destroy that beast.

However, it didn't seem too interested in eating _them_ , as it remained passively hanging in the sky. Instead, the Akuma that surrounded the Exorcists all reversed direction and flew directly into the giant dragon's mouth, disappearing down its gullet. When the last one had disappeared, the jaws snapped shut with a sickening _crunch_ of metal, bones and flesh, the combinations of Akuma bodies.

"Jesus Christ," Lavi's own jaw unhinged, "it just _ate them all?!_ "

"Akuma are cannibalistic," Krory said with some effort as he tried to drag himself from the shallow crater he was prostrate in. "We saw it in Edo."

"Yeah, I know that, but that... that thing ate _that many_ of them!"

The baron clawed at the earth, still struggling, and Peter hurried over to help him, suspiciously eyeing the shimmering, human-shaped bodies made of water. Sarita's army of clones were stationary; the only movement was that of water flowing through a vertical container.

"Is Allen all right?" Krory asked bluntly as Peter shouldered the injured Romanian and helped him over to where the others were.

Mandy shook her head, tears streaming from her eyes. Lavi's jaw snapped shut and drew taut.

"No pulse?"

"I cannot feel one, Papa."

"What the hell happened?" Krory demanded. "This isn't possible! Allen can't just die like that!"

"I think he finally overdid it with his Innocence," Lavi said tersely, still in denial that Allen was gone. "He told me the other day that he didn't have much time left, but I had no idea it would happen _this fast!_ "

Krory looked skeptical; "For a parasitic-type to die because of his Innocence, and do so like this? I don't quite buy it."

Lavi shrugged; "I hope you're right, Krory." He didn't even bother with the nickname this time. He was far too distressed -- especially since he could see that the dragon's size was increasing substantially.

The clones around them solidified into human bodies. If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, Lavi might've been horrified on behalf of the children, because the clones were all completely nude. Apparently Sarita couldn't be arsed into copying herself with clothing!

"Can you find me in time, Eyepatch?" Sarita sneered from somewhere. "I have heard about your amazing abilities. So let us just see if you are as good as you once were! Find me and stop me, or you all die here!"

Lavi ground his teeth; "Okay, kids. Listen up. You're to take care of each other. Watch each other's backs. Don't let each other get hurt. Krory, you and I are going for that bitch. When I point her out to you, you take her out."

"You know which one is her?"

"I can find her," the redhead said tersely. "I'll find her in no time. She can make a million copies of herself, but I'll find the real one. She can't hide from me."

With an agreeing nod, the baron reactivated his Innocence and the two of them launched themselves into the fray as one. Peter and Mandy assumed defensive positions over Allen where he'd fallen. Mandy utilized the physical training she'd gotten from Lavi to keep herself one step ahead of the water clones that attacked her, using her voice to weaken them, while Peter used his gauntlet to smash the clones apart. Lavi and Krory, meanwhile, were carving their way through another swath, with Lavi periodically stopping to look around at each of the clones, to identify the real one.

What they didn't count on, however, was that after fifteen minutes, and hundreds of clones destroyed, there seemed to be no end in sight. The clones would dissolve into water the moment they were touched, falling to the earth and then if Lavi watched closely, they would form again in a new place.

They needed more Exorcists to handle this one. She was eluding him somehow, and the two of them couldn't destroy the clones fast enough to narrow the search. And now more Akuma had begun to swarm in. As if the Noah and her clones weren't bad enough, there were Akuma to deal with too, again. Where exactly they'd come from wasn't clear. Lavi suspected that the giant dragon was more of a transport than an oversized Akuma, given the way it had consumed the other Akuma.

However, any help that might have come would likely be too far away now. With Allen dead, the Ark was probably disconnected entirely.

It looked like he had only one choice... a terrible choice at that. But it seemed that it was either this, or the four of them would be killed here, for a total of five Exorcists killed at once. And that couldn't be allowed to happen.

It looked like he had to call upon the All-Seals combination.

"Okay, Krory," Lavi said after a moment of rest to catch his breath. "New plan. You grab the kids and get ready to run as fast as you can. Forget about Allen and me. Just get the kids out of here. And get them back to HQ. I'll hold this damned circus off somehow, if it's the last thing I do. And if I don't make it back... please take care of the kids."

"Lavi, don't be stupid. They already lost one father, don't be in a hurry to die and leave them alone!"

"Do you have a better idea, Krory?!" Lavi hollered at the baron. "We'll _all_ die here at this rate!"

" _I_ have a better idea, you stupid rabbit -- you get down!" A voice yelled from behind as a blinding black streak erupted from the background.

* * *

_Where am I?_

**You are within**.

_Within? Within what?_

**Within yourself**.

Everything was blank, blindingly white and formless. His entire left arm ached from his hand all the way to his shoulder. Allen forced himself to sit up, though his surroundings didn't change. Now in control of his mouth (such as it was), he was able to speak, for whatever good that did him.

"Within myself? Where are my kids? And Lavi? Where is everyone?"

**Gone. You cannot reach them from here.**

Allen shuddered. "What do you mean 'Gone'? Are they dead? Am _I_ dead?"

**You are on the threshold. Your feelings of attachment have kept you from moving onward.**

"What do you mean?"

**As long as you cling to this pathetic shell of a life, you will never move forward.**

"Pathetic shell of a life? What do you mean?"

**You live for the wrong reasons now.**

"Wrong reasons? Who are you to judge my reasons for living?"

**For what reason do you exist, Allen Walker? For what reason do you move through life?**

"To defeat the Millennium Earl and put to rest permanently the Akuma."

**Then you are done. You have done enough. You cannot defeat the Earl yourself alone, and the longer you deceive yourself into thinking you can, the more you doom yourself. I can no longer abide by this.**

"Who are you?"

 **I am your Innocence. The one you call Crown Clown.** In the air before him, the whiteness coalesced to form the glimmering gold-trimmed silver mask from his Innocence cloak. He could make out the outline of the tumescent cloak, and the faint form of the large-bladed sword.

"If you are my Innocence, why do you object to my desire to defeat the Earl and save the Akuma from being further tormented?"

**You believe that you alone can do this. You misunderstand the prophecy to think that only you can defeat what has existed for so long. You stress me beyond my limits in the quest for this. Therefore, I must end your quest, before I am eradicated entirely.**

Allen was silent, unable to counter that.

**You must make a choice, Allen Walker. You must choose between the path you chose to walk, and the future you could have.**

"What do you mean? How can I choose?"

**As you are now, you cannot live. You have used me beyond my limits, and if you insist on going forward like this, you will destroy us both.**

"Do you mean to kill me?"

**I must, if you will not change.**

"What can I do?"

**You must make a decision now. What is more important to you? Your goal to defeat the Earl, or the protection of those you love?**

"Both."

**You may only choose one. Will you continue to aim for the Earl, or will you focus on your family and that which surrounds you?**

Allen tried to make heads or tails of that. "But I want to do both -- I want to protect my family, and defeat the Earl."

**So long as you pursue the Earl yourself, you will destroy us both. You have lost all faith in the union of Innocence. You take the burden on yourself entirely. The Earl cannot be defeated by one Exorcist alone, not even a Destroyer of Eras. Only the union of all Innocence can defeat the Earl's strength. You doom everyone if you destroy me.**

"What would you have me do? Is there anything I can do to survive, or are you tormenting me?"

**I can only allow you to live if you can begin to trust the others, let the others fight for you. You have used me too much. I cannot guarantee you much time even if you do accept this, but I can guarantee you no time at all if you do not.**

"Will I still be able to protect those I love?"

**Yes. But you cannot continue to aim for the Earl alone. You _must_ believe in your fellow Exorcists. Without the other Exorcists alongside you, you have no hopes of winning.**

Allen considered this. "So, let me get this straight. You aim to take my life unless I _stop_ fighting?"

**Incorrect. It is not that you must stop fighting; it is that you must start believing. The more you take upon yourself, the more you take of me. Rely on others more. No one piece of Innocence is truly greater than another, not even the Heart. You have fought long enough. Now it is time for you to guide. Believe in your fellow Exorcists. If you can focus yourself to guide those two children, rather than fighting in their places, you may extend your life. Will you accept this?**

"I don't seem to have a choice."

**This war cannot be won by one person alone; if you try to destroy me by using me beyond my limits, I must destroy you.**

"I don't understand."

**I will still protect you. But you must trust me as much as you must trust your comrades. I am not your weapon; I am part of you. From here on out, every time you invoke me as a weapon may be your last.**

* * *

"Lavi!"

The redhead turned around, barely able to believe the voice he heard calling his name.

"Lenalee?"

He could barely process the arrival of reinforcements. Kanda and his student Sven had erupted from a hole in the ground (no doubt using Sven's ability to tunnel as a means of bypassing the barrier around the clearing) and now more people were emerging from the hole: Lenalee and Miranda.

"Why are you here?" He asked dumbly.

"The Supervisor sent us," Miranda said as she met up with her husband, who looked very relieved to see her, despite this being a dangerous battlefield. "He just told us that General Walker fell in battle and that you were fighting a Noah. I'm guessing that Timcanpy sent the information."

"Is Allen really..." Lenalee asked hesitantly, looking over at where the young General was laying motionless.

"I don't know," Lavi said tiredly. "It's not looking good even if he _is_ alive."

"I'll protect General Walker," Miranda said gently. "Arystar, you stay with me and make sure no one ambushes me. Lenalee is supposed to help with the Akuma while you help General Kanda and Sven with the Noah."

"Right," Lenalee said. "I'll take care of the kids too, Lavi, so don't worry about them. I'll make sure they stay out of danger. You know how fast I am."

"Thanks," Lavi said wearily. "I owe you guys." He spun his hammer in his hands as Krory and Miranda moved over to where Allen lay, while Lenalee joined up with the kids and hoisted them up. Miranda activated her Time Out shield to protect the area Allen lay. Krory deactivated his Innocence in order to rest himself a bit, but kept all his senses primed and on watch.

"I'm here to help you kids out," Lenalee told them as she picked them up, swinging Mandy onto her back like a rucksack and holding Peter in front of her so that he could move his arms freely. "I'll keep you kids out of the range of the Akuma and their cannons. You're to destroy them; I'm just here to keep you safe."

Lavi took another breather before hurling himself into the fray. Already, though, Sven and Kanda had carved a huge swath through the clones. The two of them worked in concert to each other in such a way that Lavi privately envied them for their partnership. For all that he and Allen were partners in life, on the battlefield there was still an imbalance of power. (Granted, Sven generally relied on Kanda for orders, but the two of them could count on each other absolutely. Kanda could count on Sven doing exactly as told, as efficiently as necessary, and Sven could rely on his General to leave him alone in most cases, only directing him when the situation demanded it.) Lavi sometimes wished that he and Allen could've developed this kind of working partnership.

His chest tightened up momentarily thinking about Allen, but he forced those feelings to recede and summoned up the circle of seals, using the Heaven Seal to hopefully break the unity of the water-clones. However, his exhaustion was starting to really tell on him. He managed to rid a few clones, while Sven and Kanda were taking out clones by the dozen every couple of swipes. It was humbling in many ways. If Lavi hadn't known Kanda as well as he did, he would have sworn the two were competing as to who could destroy more enemies. But Kanda wasn't the kind of person who could be compelled to compete at all.

Lavi tried his best, but the compound of everything that had happened was weighing on him too much and he couldn't move as quickly as before. Not to mention how outclassed he clearly was in raw combat by Kanda and Sven. He was starting to wonder if he should just leave the rest of this to Kanda and Sven and go take shelter inside Miranda's shield.

Kanda was cutting down clones two and three at a time, carving them up before they could respawn. They were respawning much slower now. It seemed that the water had to realign itself or something. And with the clones being destroyed so rapidly, it appeared that the Noah was having trouble keeping it up. Sven and Kanda seemed able to see right through the mirages, because they ignored some of what looked like clones, charging right through them, not even bothering to brandish their weapons at those. It was mind-boggling.

"Lavi, what are you waiting for?!" Sven yelled.

"Come on, you damned one-eyed rabbit!" Kanda hollered angrily. "Find the fucking Noah! You're the one with the instant memory!"

Lavi blinked stupidly, temporarily stunned. Then he mentally flogged himself for getting so caught up in his grief and exhaustion that he'd forgotten his intentions on finding the Noah herself and eliminating her. Hefting up his hammer, he activated the Wind and Wood seals at the same time, a tricky combination that could reveal illusions and mirages, to narrow the search a little. This combination seal would change the refraction of light by controlling the flow of air. Then, with the Heaven seal, he shattered those illusions completely with bolts of energy from nature. This narrowed the field considerably, removing the mirages and leaving only the genuine bodies; with fewer targets to choose from, the master-and-student combination ramped up the attack power and began mowing through the clones at an alarming rate.

 _I see you, you nasty bitch!_ Lavi thought as he spied one clone that was just very, very slightly different. "Sven! Yuu! _That one!_ "

And then, abruptly, it was all over. All the clones were eradicated, and Kanda stood with what they could only presume was the real Noah herself impaled on Mugen. Her eyes were wide with horror and blood, not water, poured out of her wounds.

"L-L-Lord... Millennium..." She wheezed, looking to the sky. "Leviathan, flee... I am..." She slumped, and her body seemed to rapidly decompose as water evaporated from her skin and blood. The great shadow of the dragon hovering overhead rose up as it lifted itself higher, and then, with a sonic boom, it was gone.

In disgust, Kanda wrenched Mugen out of the Noah's body, grabbing onto a swatch of her clothing to wipe the blood off. Then he reached up, plucked his golem out of the air above his head, pressed the button on it, and said tersely; "Noah dispatched. Field of battle secured. The Akuma have been destroyed or have retreated. General Walker's condition is unconfirmed. We will be returning as quickly as we can."

"Very well, General Kanda," the dispatcher replied. "Your report is being transferred to the Head Supervisor now. Have a safe trip back."

Kanda grunted and pushed the button again, disconnecting. Then he looked over at Sven and was about to speak when Lavi interrupted him; "How did you guys get here so fast, Yuu?"

"How do you think we got here, idiot?"

"The Ark," Sven replied, as if Kanda hadn't spoken.

"But how? If Allen's..." He couldn't even say it.

"The Ark still works," the Dane said blandly. "Perhaps for established gates, General Walker doesn't need to be alive. Besides, I am of the impression that General Walker only recently fell; we have been over here for nearly an hour, trying to get past this barrier."

Lavi flinched; "I see. I guess I should know better than to get my hopes up. I guess that means we're down a General, which also means I'm probably going to have to accept the promotion. Dammit, Allen, why did you have to go and die on me?"

And once again, the irony of his statement was borne out moments later.

"Lavi!" Miranda's voice called over from where she and Krory were; her Time Out shield was dismantled and the ethereal rings were returning to the disc on her sleeve. "Come over here, quickly! General Walker is still alive!"

What?

His feet moved of their own accord, carrying him swiftly over to where the others were clustered. Lenalee was arriving right about then with the kids in tow. Allen was laying on his back this time, having been moved, and his head rested in Miranda's lap. Krory crouched over the fallen General, inspecting him closely.

"Allen?" Lavi said breathlessly as he skidded to a stop by the others.

Allen's eyes fluttered open slowly. His eyes were a little glazed, but he was clearly lucid. Mandy let out a strangled squeak and Peter gulped.

"Oh god, Allen!" Lavi's eyes filled up with tears, and he dashed them with his sleeve as he reached out to touch his long-time lover. "I thought you were dead!"

"I think I was..." Allen murmured softly. "I... can't really explain it yet. But I think I'm going to be okay... I'm just exhausted now..."

"I'll take you home now, Allen. We'll have Catherine look at you and fix you up good as new."

"But the Noah..."

"Kanda took care of her," Krory said. "And the Akuma have either been destroyed or have fled."

"Papa..." Mandy tugged on Lavi's sleeve. "Daddy's arm looks strange."

Lavi blinked at her, then looked down at Allen. The skin of the left arm was no longer smooth, covered with raised veins and scale-like patterns, and the color was more purple-red than the near-black red that had been there for so long. The arm looked emaciated.

"Allen?" He touched the afflicted appendage. "Your arm...?"

"I'll explain later," Allen said softly, "when I have more strength."

Lavi nodded and then scooped the General up into his arms, holding him close and standing up. "Can you open an Ark gate here and get us out of here?"

"Yeah... hang on." He closed his eyes and fell a little still (Lavi nearly panicked, thinking Allen wouldn't open them again).

Then, an Ark gate opened up beside them. Lavi looked over at the others; "Let's go, everyone. I want to get him home as soon as possible."

"Good plan," Krory said. "I for one am exhausted and would rather get home quickly anyway."

Without waiting to see if the others were following, Lavi proceeded through the gate into the white-walled city of the Ark, under a bright blue sky. "Which way to the Order door, Allen?"

"That way." The hand was unsteady, but the direction was clear. Following the direction, Lavi strode meaningfully toward a door he only vaguely recognized.

"This door doesn't look familiar. Did the coordinates change?"

"Yes. When I lost consciousness, the Ark reset itself; all gates connected to Headquarters or any Branch disconnect if I lose consciousness. It's a defense mechanism."

It appeared that Komui got word of their return in plenty of time, as he was waiting at the gate to greet the returning Exorcists. His expression was bland, almost severe, as the Exorcists filed into the room. There was almost a shadow of grief in his eyes, and Lavi realized belatedly that the Head Supervisor likely didn't know that Allen was in fact still alive. And Allen wasn't exactly overly lively, exhausted as he was. Peter and Mandy stuck very close to their parents, both looking frightened.

As the last of the Exorcists passed through the gate, the portal itself dimmed into its normal inactive state. The room was almost unbearably silent as Komui took his place at his desk. Then he spoke, gravely; "I won't even ask how the mission went, as it's pretty clear that I sent you guys straight into a trap... a trap that has cost us dearly. I'm only glad that General Kanda was able to get there with backup, to minimize the casualties."

"It could have been worse," Allen said faintly. "We've all returned alive, if a little worse for wear."

Komui's eyes widened in shock and he stood up again, leaning on his desk; "Wait, Allen, I thought you were--"

"I was, I think. But I've been given one last chance."

The Supervisor just blinked owlishly at him, while Lavi wearily sank onto the sofa, settling Allen into the cushions as well. "How is that possible?"

Allen heaved a sigh as he opened his eyes heavily; "It's... complicated. It'll take a while to explain."

"Please try," Komui said.

* * *

"So, Little Sarita didn't make it, hmm?"

"Well, I suppose it was doomed to fail from the beginning," Cyril Kamelot said generously. "After all, no one has been able to bring Allen Walker down yet. Not even you, Lord Millennium, though I don't doubt that if you were to get serious with him, you could."

"Ever the fucking brownnoser, Cyril," Tyki Mikk muttered. "And that Walker kid is a damned cockroach."

The Earl seemed to ponder this a bit; "Well, I suppose we'll just have to think of something else."

"Or wait," Cyril suggested. "It seems to me like Walker's Innocence is starting to fail on him."

"Says you, who has never fought the brat," Tyki snapped. "Don't let him fool you into thinking his Innocence is failing -- he's done that before, and come back stronger than ever."

"Well, based on what I saw, it's pretty obvious that he's weakened now."

"Why don't you try and take him out then, if you're so smart?"

The taller Noah just grinned; "Because I have a country to run and wars to ignite? My battlefield is very different from yours, Tyki-pet."

"Enough arguing," the Earl said. "We just need to think of something else. But with the way you Noah have been falling to their Generals, I wonder if I need to find stronger people to give the memories to."

"Ouch," Cyril smirked. "That's below the belt, Lord Millennium. None of _us_ here has fallen to a General, per se."

The conversation ended abruptly when Road came bounding in, demanding that the Earl play with her. Cyril's attention returned to whatever he was working on -- something political -- and Tyki shifted his gaze to a tapestry on the wall.

He heaved a sigh of disgust. _I'll never live down the number of times that damned brat has showed me up. Though I suppose it would have been more humiliating if that failure of a Noah had managed to kill the brat when I've never been able to._

* * *

Lavi was probably more confused now than he'd ever been in his life. What Allen had just relayed to them literally made no sense at all, and sounded like a bad opium dream. His Innocence was demanding that he _stop fighting_ now?

Komui was likewise confused; "That doesn't make a lot of sense, Allen, but I think I'll take it for now, and let Catherine work her magic on you. When you're feeling a little better, you should relay all this to Hevlaska, and see what she thinks. The behavior of your Innocence sounds extremely odd to me, but perhaps she can explain it better."

"That'd be nice. I don't quite understand it myself," Allen replied. By now, Catherine was there, silently examining him and administering her Innocence-laden water. The General was a little more alert now, but still very, very tired. At least he didn't look like death warmed over anymore. "But Crown Clown was pretty insistent that I need to stop relying on it alone. It kept referring to the 'union of Innocence'."

"Well, it's certainly right about one thing," Catherine said. "You've done more than enough. You need to step back. You're barely thirty years old and your body is falling apart."

"If I have to," Lavi said, "I'll take the gold uniform so that you can retire, Allen. I'd much rather do that than lose you now. If it means an extension of life for you, I'll accept the promotion without a second thought."

"It's not that easy, Lavi," Allen said with a melancholic smile. "I'm still living on borrowed time. That hasn't changed. The only thing that has changed is that now, if I force my Innocence to invoke, I may push it beyond its limit and then it's all over. But even if I never use my Innocence again, that doesn't mean I can live a normal life."

Lavi wanted to argue the matter, but decided against it. _If me getting a promotion means you're not likely to self-destruct, it's worth it, Allen. Every extra moment is worth it._

"We'll talk about this some other time," Komui said. "Catherine, what do you recommend now?"

"I think he should go back to his quarters and rest for at least twenty-four hours. That's a minimum, I might add. I see no need for him to be in the medical ward, he's in fairly good shape, but he definitely needs rest. And I think he's not the only one who needs some rest." She turned her expert eye to Lavi and both kids. "You lot all need some rest and time to come down off this. That includes you, Arystar Krory. You look pretty used up yourself."

"Very well then," Komui said. "In that case, you Exorcists are under orders to rest for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Including you, Krory."

"Yes sir," the baron said tiredly.

Lavi stood up, helping Allen to his feet as well. He pulled Allen's right arm across his shoulders to give his lover something to lean on, so that he could get back to their quarters under his own power, but with support. "C'mon, Allen. Let's go home. You heard the orders." He glanced down at the kids. "Let's all go home and try and put this behind us."

"Lavi," Komui said, before they could leave, "as General Walker is in no condition to do so himself, I expect a full report debriefing the mission from you. I'll accept a written one, and you can take your time. I'll give you a forty-eight hour deadline."

"Roger that."

As the family left, and the other Exorcists scattered, Komui sighed. "The Grand Generals will be on my ass about this. I should be dragging Allen down there to them right now."

"You saw what kind of condition he's in," Catherine said gravely. "He's not going to last much longer. I just hope that now he'll take it easy and make the most of what little time he's got left. He's young, but he should retire, before this job destroys him completely."

"The fact that Lavi's willing to accept a promotion in Allen's place will help. I'll propose it to the Grand Generals, but I don't know what'll happen."

"That's all you can do," the nurse said, handing him a mug of herbal tea with special herbs dissolved in it, to help alleviate his arthritis; then, giving him a respectful salute, she turned to leave. "If you need me, Chief, you know where to find me."

* * *

"Hard as it'll be," Peter said in a low voice to his sister, "I think we need to leave Dad and Papa alone for a little bit. I think they need some time alone, with each other."

Mandy nodded mutely. Her throat was tight with a combination of fear and pent-up grief.

"Hey, don't look so down," the boy said after a moment, "look... no matter what happens, we'll always have each other. That won't change. And we've still got Papa, and Dad isn't giving up yet."

"I know," she said quietly. "I am just... scared. And confused."

"Yeah. I know." He put an arm around her shoulders. "I'm scared too, Sis. But we do have each other, and we still have Dad and Papa right now. Instead of being too scared, we should focus on spending as much time with Dad as we can. When he's gone, I think we're going to have to be strong for Papa's sake too."

By this point, they were at their living quarters, with Lavi shouldering the door open for them to get in. Because of the time differences between India and the location of their Headquarters, it was still morning in the Order's building, but the entire family was completely worn out and in need of sleep.

"Wait, kids, before you go into your room," Allen said softly just as the two were about to make a bee-line to their bedroom. "Come here a minute."

As they approached him, he put his arms around them both, drawing them into a tight hug. "I just want to tell you kids again that I love you both so very much. I'm so very proud of you both. And I want you to know that I'll always be with you, in some way. No matter what happens, I'm with you both, always. I'm also not planning on going down without a fight. So don't waste your time worrying about me. I've still got a little bit of mileage left in me."

"Tell you what," Lavi said. "You kids get yourselves to bed and get some rest. Your Dad's under orders to rest for the next twenty four hours, minimum. So, you kids get some rest, and when we've all had some rest, we'll all spend the next two days together. We'll get sick of each other's company in the process! Deal? C'mon, kids, let's get you to bed."

"We can do it ourselves, Papa," Peter stated. "You're just as tired as we are." Then he grinned and grabbed Mandy's hand, dragging her toward their bedroom. "Papa, you just take good care of Dad."

"Well how do ya like that? Little brat," Lavi grumbled as the door to the kids' room shut tight. "Oh well."

"He's just worried about us, Lavi. Let it go this time. I'm exhausted, so let's just go to bed."

"That boy is more perceptive than anyone I know." The statement came out of nowhere, and Lavi sounded almost incredulous.

"Huh? How do you mean?"

"I... don't really know. I just get this feeling that Peter did that -- grabbed Mandy and buggered off to their room -- because he somehow knows that more than anything, I just want you to myself for a little while. Ugh, nevermind, I'm starting to get rummy. It's really been a hell of a day."

The two of them fell into a companionable silence as they stripped out of their uniforms, pulled on some pajamas and then crawled into their bed. Lavi gathered his lover into his arms and held him close, stroking the long white hair.

"By the way," Allen said softly, pillowing his head on Lavi's chest, "I meant it when I told the kids I've still got some mileage left on me. I don't intend to die any time soon. I'll just have to find another way around this limitation that's been put on me. I have no intentions of giving in one tiny millimeter. So, please, try not to worry too much about me. I'm actually pretty good at taking care of myself."

"Liar," Lavi said mildly. "You're shit at taking care of yourself because you put yourself on the front lines when you shouldn't. Well, whatever happens, I fully intend to make sure you keep that promise you made to your Innocence, about not overdoing it. If I have to club you with my hammer until you're unconscious, so help me God, I'll do it."

"Fine." Allen yawned. "Don't ever change, Lavi. You're perfect just the way you are." Then the General slipped off into sleep.

Lavi stroked the soft white hair a little more, waiting for sleep to catch up to him, which was hardly long in happening. As he started to drift off, he dropped a kiss into Allen's hair and murmured; "I couldn't change, even if I wanted to, Allen. You made me who I am. I love you, you silly beansprout, and I always will. Even when you're no longer here for me to say it to."

The apartment fell silent as its occupants fell asleep. The only occasional flicker of movement was from a golden golem periodically making the rounds from room to room, before perching itself and going to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> As with all the stories in this series, this is several years old and is thus far from current with the manga. This is the last of the series, too. I have struggled to write a final story in the sequence, but it ultimately is a requiem to Allen, which I just cannot manage to do.


End file.
